A new cloud of imagination floats down the streets of downtown El Paso and is taking another step into the future as the city of El Paso announced the new El Paso’s Children Museum and Science Center, March 23.
The new museum will be called “La Nube: The Shape of Imagination” which translates to “The Cloud” in Spanish. It will be located on the corner of Sante Fe Street and West Main Drive. The building will be four stories in the shape of a cloud and construction will be completed by early 2023.
“It has four floors of exhibits and experiences. There’s a climber that goes up to the roof and it is wheelchair accessible.” said Barry Van Deman the executive director of La Nube Museum. “It’s a learning experience for children and adults. I think El Paso is going to be delighted in what they see here.”
Van Denman shared La Nube is intended to be a fun educational center that will help spark children’s curiosity in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics or STEAM.
The name of the new museum was chosen from a long list of more than 600 submissions by El Pasoans, and it was announced at a ceremony at Aoy Elementary School.
“I think that the name of the new museum is very significant to the borderland community,” Van Deman said. “The clouds above don’t know borders; they cross all boundaries. More important than that, we want to encourage kids to use their imagination and reach for the clouds. To know that things are possible when you put your mind and energy into them. We think it’s a good name for an important place like this.”
UTEP student and math major Elisa Celis is not too keen on the name for the new children’s museum, but she likes the idea of the city bringing in more educational venues.
“I don’t like the name, but I think it will be an amazing opportunity for the children in the city to learn more about STEM,” Celis said. “I do like how the shape of the building will be a cloud. I feel like it will bring more interesting shapes to the downtown skyline.”
According to the museum’s website, the museum will be an interactive experience for the entire family. Visitors will learn and explore the many elements of land, water and sky. Its goal is to spark children’s imagination and inspire them to reach for the clouds.
Britnny Ramirez, a UTEP sophomore student and computer science major is excited for this new downtown addition and plans on bringing her younger siblings to learn.
“I have a new baby sister, and I can’t wait to take her to the new children’s museum when she is older,” Ramirez said. “I’m a woman in STEM, and I feel like this will be a great way to inspire young girls to pursue science and math and become future scientists, doctors, and even artists. I hope that my sister will be inspired to like science and math through this museum.”
Ramirez said some of the attractions in the museum will include the Little Stars Café, funded by Helen of Troy. There will also be an immersive weathercast exhibit, one of the nine themed interactive exhibitions. The “Follow Your Instincts” exhibit will allow guests to follow their instincts into a whole new world of adventure. The biggest attraction in the museum will be the “Anything’s Possible” climber zones that will test kids’ limits and challenge them to problem-solve while exercising. These interactive sculptures are just some of the attractions that La Nube will offer.
“We want the community to get involved with the museum, so we created the Reach for the Clouds Campaign.” said Karla Salazar, the director of operation at the La Nube Museum. “Supporters who donate $250 to La Nube will have their name recognized in the Anything’s Possible experience area.”
For information and to follow the progress of the museum visit La Nube on Instagram @lanube915 or their website https://la-nube.org/.
Alyson Rodriguez is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]; @alyson_rod1127 on Twitter
