Children's Museum Gets New Name

The fledgling and nomadic Cobblestone Children's Museum has a new name: the Explore It! Children's Museum.

"This name change was made to more accurately convey the museum mission," according to a press release announcing the name change. "The group remains the same and is still dedicated to making a children's museum a reality in the Fredericksburg area."

The name change means that the museum also now has a new Facebook page and website.

Since earlier this year, the museum has been making appearance at community events with its Amazing Magnets and Farm to Table exhibits. Using a variety of attractive, interactive displays, it gets kids to think about the science behind magnetism in a practical and tactile manner.

Next year, the museum will receive a $3,500 grant from the Fredericksburg Area Service League to develop a traveling physics exhibit called Ready, Set, Roll. The exhibit will use golf balls, ramps, loops and jumps to introduce kids to concepts of gravity, velocity, friction, and motion in an elementary manner.

The museum also recently received a grant from the Duff McDuff Green, Jr. Fund of the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region. The money will fund a trip for two members of the museum's Board of Directors to attend next year's Association of Children's Museums Interactivity Conference in Portland.