A new building opens soon at Erie's children's museum: Take a look inside.

The project started modestly enough, said Jenny Geertson, board chair for Erie's Experience Children's Museum.

Board members began talking a few years ago about needing a new elevator and maybe some work on the building's HVAC system.

The board's ambitions grew over time into an $18 million project to include a top-to-bottom makeover for the existing building, a 19,000-square-foot addition and an outdoor classroom.

The public will get its first look inside the museum's new building when the doors open June 21.

The original museum building, built in 1906, will close Thursday for renovations that should be complete by June 2024.

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On Tuesday, the focus was on wrapping up construction and assembling displays in the new building at the corner of French and East Fifth streets.

About 40 people were on hand as construction crews and employees from Building Four Fabrication, an Atlanta-based company that builds museum and commercial exhibits, worked to meet a deadline that's now three weeks away.

"The full-court press is on to get it done," said Ainslie Brosig, executive director of the museum.

What awaits Children's Museum visitors?

Brosig begins the tour with what she expects will be a lasting image of the museum. On a floor dedicated to Lake Erie, one of the star attractions is a handicap-accessible climbing ship, complete with a giant captain's wheel, inspired by the U.S. Brig Niagara.

The new building's basement level, which has the benefit of high ceilings and expansive glass, also features a replacement for the museum's popular water table exhibit. The new version is 45 feet long and is the second-largest display of its type in the United States, Brosig said.

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The building, designed by the Erie architectural firm of Weber Murphy Fox, tries to anticipate every need. The climbing ship, for instance, is surrounded by a cushioned floor to prevent injuries in case of a fall. And dryers are located not far from the water table.

"They are going to need it because they are going to get soaked," Brosig said.

The lake theme continues with displays on the Erie Canal, agriculture and the ways that Lake Erie helps to shape the region's weather.

Erie's five land lighthouses also will be featured in a climbing structure that lets young visitors climb from one lighthouse to the next.

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Brosig, who has worked closely with the director of the children's museum in Buffalo, New York, said she's visited museums around the country in search of ideas.

"When you are starting fresh, you get to take back the best of all the children's museums, hear what worked and what didn't work," she said.

The fun's in the details

Here's a look at the new Experience Children's Museum:

∎ Visitors will enter the building into a lobby near the corner of French and East Fifth streets. There is no charge to enter the expanded gift shop.

∎ Even a lobby display bearing the names of museum donors is designed to entertain. Names will appear on a system of gears that visitors can turn. "If we are going to spend money to put people's names up here, I wanted it to do something," Brosig said."

∎ Museum guests can have their photos taken against backdrops that include holiday scenes, the beach, outer space and the Oval Office. Visitors can email the photos to themselves at no charge.

∎ An aquarium will display the fish made famous by the movie "Finding Nemo."

∎ Cool displays aren't cheap. Altogether, the museum will include $5.5 million in displays, including $1 million each for the water table and the ship climber. Even a life-sized cow cost thousands.

Another display features an auto repair shop with a mock-up of a kid-sized car. Visitors can check the oil, replace worn tires with new ones and slide under the car to fix a broken muffler. At $56,000, the tiny car costs more than most real ones.

∎ The Children's Museum has purchased the empty lot between its own location and the Erie Art Museum next door. The space will be developed as a 9,500-square-foot outdoor classroom that will feature a kitchen, stage, water feature and raised garden beds. The classroom is expected to open this coming fall.

∎ Brosig said her favorite exhibit includes rope-controlled balloons styled after those used in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Brosig said she hopes the display evokes the image of looking up at the clouds as a young child.

"It really reminds me of childhood and the imagination that is in all of us," she said.

∎ A familiar sight from the old museum building — a model overhead train suspended from the ceiling — has been moved to the new building.

∎ Other features include a Wegmans-branded grocery store, a farm, a theater and a diner where kids can assemble and serve make-believe meals to their families.

What's next?

The museum's original building, a bit smaller than the new one at about 14,500 square feet, closes Thursday for renovations that should take about a year.

Brosig said the building will house three classrooms, an art studio and an innovation station. The building will also include a flight lab, a hands-on construction exhibit and a plastics-focused recycling display.

Taking stock

Steve Soucie, a project manager for Building Four Fabrication, has been in Erie since May 15 and expects to be working with his crew until June 19.

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"The people who I have met through this work are amazing Erie people. It's an amazing experience," Soucie said. "We have big burly guys who are working in here, messing with steel. They just want to come back up and take a look when it's done. It brings a smile to everyone's face."

Geertson was smiling herself last week as she walked through what remains a construction zone.

Geertson said she was pleased the board traded its original plan for minor upgrades into something much larger.

"It's been awesome to see this come to life. It's unreal," she said. "We knew this was the right thing to do. We had to do it."

For Brosig, the payoff will come at 10 a.m. June 21 when visitors walk through the door for the first time.

"My favorite part is going to be seeing the kids' faces when they see this amazing place that we have worked so hard to create," she said.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA Experience Children's Museum races to complete new building