YOUNGSTOWN Children's museum chief arrived at the right time

The project began through the action of the Junior League of Youngstown.
By GARRY L. CLARK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Dr. David G. Ruffer talks excitedly about his work as executive director of the newly formed board of trustees for the Children's Museum of Youngstown.
Ruffer, who moved to the area along with his wife about a year ago, was previously the director of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton.
The story of Ruffer's journey from there to his new position here is best described as serendipitous. Serendipitous, that is, for the Junior League of Youngstown, whose members first envisioned a hands-on museum for children in the Youngstown area.
The director: Ruffer had served as a college president for 17 years and from there went to the Dayton Museum of Natural History where he was employed to convert it into a children's museum.
"We kept the natural history theme," he says, "but developed interactive exhibits." It is considered one of the 10 best children's museum's in the country.
When work on the new museum was completed in 1999, Ruffer was ready to retire. He and his wife decided to move to the Mahoning Valley to be near their grandchildren since their daughter and son-in-law are on the faculty at Youngstown State University.
Meanwhile, the Junior League of Youngstown had been trying to develop the idea of a children's museum and to raise money for a feasibility study for it.
It was the Ruffers' real estate agent who made the connection. She knew of the Junior League's quest and also about Ruffer's background. It seemed like a good match, so she put the league in touch with him.
Ruffer worked with the league on the feasibility study, which was completed in January, resulting in a decision that the project should proceed. He also volunteered to help with construction.
The league then set about forming a board of trustees for the museum, contributing $20,000 toward development costs. An additional grant of $5,000 from the Abe and Leona M. Adler Charitable Trust also has been committed to initial costs.
With the establishment of the board of trustees, the museum became a separate entity from the league in keeping with its long-standing policy regarding such efforts.
Ruffer was named executive director at the board's organizational meeting last month. Those serving on the board with him are Susan Taracuk Brown, Judge Theresa Dellick, Edna D. Pincham and Sherry Weinblatt. Additional members will be joining the board in the month to come.
Children's museums are the fastest growing kind of museum, with nearly 200 in the United States. They provide hands-on exhibits that encourage visitors to touch and interact with the various exhibits, creating a deeper learning experience and developing curiosity and interest.
The closest ones are in Cleveland, Akron and Pittsburgh. "COSI in Columbus is a children's museum, but it has a science emphasis," Ruffer said. "This one will be about Mahoning Valley culture."
He also said that it will be designed to encourage visitors to go on to other area museums, such as The Butler Museum of American Art, the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor and the Arms Family Museum of Local History, to name a few.
Seeking a home: Ruffer says the board is looking for space, particularly downtown, to house the museum. They would prefer to convert a building.
"Children's museums lend themselves to that kind of thing," Ruffer explained, "because you can adapt your exhibits to almost any kind of space. The nature of the space is less important than it might be for a specific type of museum, such as an art museum."
The feasibility study found that the museum was something a lot of people would be interested in, and that the area could support a facility of around 20,000 to 30,000 square feet in order to support itself.
Ruffer says there is a distinct advantage of not having anything to start with so they can invent different types of exhibits without having to convert an established one.
The board has set a "very optimistic" goal of opening the facility in the fall of 2003, but Ruffer believes that it is reachable. He is hoping to have a site identified by March.
"It will be a great addition to downtown by adding to its development," he said. "It's going to be lots of fun."