Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – July 19, 2024 – When two local stay-at-home moms, Jordan Carlow and Kristen Amick, put their heads together for a business idea to benefit the children in the area, they knew a children’s museum was the way to go!

In November 2023 they birthed this dream that is quickly becoming a reality. HaagBrown hosted the first meeting where it was announced that they would go with the designer ROTO. If you are not familiar with ROTO, some of their clients include Nickelodeon, Kennedy Space Center, and the Smithsonian.

Josh Brown of Haag Brown Commercial Real Estate and Development told JRN, “As someone who has been vocal about our area desperately needing to add things to improve Quality of Life, we were very excited to start working with Jordan and her team on this important project. Jeff Armstrong from HaagBrown has done all of the heavy lifting over the last several months. The project being in Downtown is really a shot in the arm for the area and the businesses down there.”

The mission of NEA Children’s Museum is to inspire imagination, encourage exploration, and foster lifelong learning in the children of NEA. They plan to have exhibits that “spark curiosity about local interests.” Agriculture and weather are two proposed ideas for exhibits in the museum. They also plan to have a small city within the museum that has smaller exhibits showcasing locally owned businesses in our area.

They received their nonprofit status in January and have hit the ground running. Jordan and Kristen said that fundraising is a huge piece of this, and they need the community’s support. They plan to hold a fundraising meeting the first week of August.

Jordan states “Right now in the planning phase, our first fundraising goal is $70,000 to obtain the master planning that will be completed by our exhibit designer, ROTO. This includes exhibit planning, facility assessment and site planning, primary renderings, visualizations, and cost analysis. Once this is complete, our next fundraising goal will be to seek corporate sponsorships. What the community can do now is donate on our website, follow us on Facebook to stay informed on upcoming fundraisers, and sign up for our newsletter on the website.”

The museum is set to open in 2026-2027 in Downtown Jonesboro, consisting of at least 25,000 square feet of play space.