GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- The Grand Island Children’s Museum is rebranding itself.

At a ceremony on Friday, Mayor Roger Steele gave museum organizers a ceremonial key to the old armory building next to Ryder Park. The building is a lease from the city and Friday marked the contract’s first official day.

At the ceremony, executive director Alison Larson announced an important change for the museum. 

“Tweens and teens don’t typically like to be considered children in my experience anyway and they don’t really want to hang out at a children’s museum," Larson said. "So that meant a rebrand was necessary. So to help communicate this new vision and direction, it was necessary to rebrand.”

Larson and museum organizers unveiled EPIC Discovery Center as the official name of the museum. 

Officials also announced the launch of a new fundraising campaign. Recently, the museum was awarded a $5 million grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s 2023 Shovel-Ready Grant Program. The grant will match all gifts to help develop EPIC Discovery Center.

The STEAM-based children museum will include an 18,000-square-foot building with two stories of exhibit floor space. It will offer programming spaces, a kitchen, retail, office space, and outside access via two large garage doors.