The Springfield branch of the Dayton-based Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, which opened earlier this year, will close its current space in the mall on Aug. 31 to move a few stores south within the mall.
The current Boonshoft space was always meant to be a six-month test site so that the museum could gauge how the public would respond to the concept of having a museum in a mall, according to Mark Meister, CEO of the Dayton Society of Natural History, the museum’s parent organization.
“We thought it was going well,” said Meister, “so we thought it would be a good idea to expand.”
Elder-Beerman left the Upper Valley Mall in January after not renewing the lease for the store.
The museum in its current form has had more than 6,000 visitors in the 3,200 square foot museum area. The new area will be roughly 73,000 square feet with around 60,000 square feet of that being for the actual museum.
The area will be split into thirds with each third being dedicated to a different purpose, including educational programs, permanent and changeable exhibits with a retail area, and a special event/rental area.
Two new employees will join two current employees, Meister said, and staff from Dayton will assist as needed.
The expansion moved ahead because people in Springfield were requesting the same programs that are at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton such as more educational programs and more exhibits.
One of the ways the museum is already doing this is by having guest speakers visit both museum sites. At noon Saturday the museum in Springfield will host Rob Mies, director of the Organization for Bat Conservation. As part of his presentation, Mies will show off an assortment of different bats, including the Malayan Flying Fox, which has a 6-foot wingspan, as well as fruit bats native to Africa and Asia, local big brown bats and others.
Meister hopes the expansion will increase attendance and bring in more repeat attendees.
Along with the museum expansion, the Upper Valley Mall will play home to Homeplate Indoor Batting Cages. The batting cages will take up the space that was once occupied by Old Navy until January 31 of this year.
The 16,500 square foot space will be home to three batting cages that include turf and pitching machines. The batting cages will be for both baseball and softball. The business also will include two inflatables areas for younger children and an area for ga-ga ball, a game that is popular with youth groups in the area such as Young Life.
“It’s been a dream of mine for the past seven years,” said Chris Weaver, the owner of Homeplate.
Weaver was originally going to build the business on Leffel Lane but decided against it when he wasn’t sure he wanted to make the investment.
Weaver believes that the opening of Homeplate will give the area a new place to develop the athletes that participate in the sports of baseball and softball.
Homeplate will offer baseball and softball lessons and will be open to individuals and teams. They will also have birthday packages available.
Homeplate will open Aug. 16.
Upper Valley Mall Manager Brenda LaBonte is excited for the the potential that the two ventures bring.
“We are excited for the synergy of these two establishments,” said LaBonte. “They will definitely offer more entertainment options for people, especially the children.”
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