Mission Amazement Square is dedicated to motivating children and adults of all backgrounds and abilities toward greater creativity and understanding of themselves and the world through hands-on learning. The museum's exhibits and educational programs encourage all participants to explore the arts and humanities, culture, science, technology and their interdisciplinary relationships – Approved by the Board of Directors, 1998.
History
Turning back the pages of the J.W. Wood Building's history, one thing becomes clear: the bricks and mortar that make up this unique, Civil War-era structure have meant many things to many people. Over the course of the past 150 years, the J.W. Wood Building has served as an infirmary for the Confederate Army and a commissary store in the 1860's, as a warehouse and wholesale grocery firm in the 1930's and finally, after several decades of being unoccupied, in 2001 it became the home of Lynchburg's first hands-on, multidisciplinary children's museum, Amazement Square.
As one of the largest and best-preserved Civil War-era commercial structures remaining in Lynchburg, the building figures prominently in the city's history. Its proximity to both the James River and the railroad, the area's former major trading routes, indicates that it played a significant role in Lynchburg's economic development. Today it is a visual reminder of the city's tremendous commercial activity in the mid-nineteenth century, the period in which Lynchburg was declared by the United States Census to be the second richest city in the country on a per-capita basis.
The J.W. Wood, which is on the National Register of Historic Buildings, reflects the same Greek Revival vernacular of many of the residential houses of the late nineteenth century. The most notable and distinguishing feature of the building is its first floor cast-iron façade, the earliest surviving example of its kind remaining in Lynchburg. Composed of seven Corinthian pilasters decorated with high-relief cartouches and Corinthian capitals, the façade is divided into six bays that support an entablature with modillion cornice. Restoring this façade to accurately reflect the building's original beauty presented a challenge for Amazement Square during the first stages of the renovation process.
What presented even more of a challenge, however, was determining the best way to clean the exterior walls of the building without damaging its surface. To the museum's surprise, after using a low-pressure, water and soda-blasting technique, signage reflecting the building's history as a wholesale grocery firm and warehouse was revealed. When the sign "Death to all Insects" appeared, Amazement Square was presented with a unique dilemma. How would it manage to preserve the history of its home as a wholesale store that sold insecticides, while also reflect its new purpose as a cultural and learning organization that appreciates all forms of life?
With the community's feedback, Amazement Square decided to adopt insects as the museum's official mascots (now known as the LynchBugs) and change the sign from "Death to all Insects" to "Respect to All Insects." In 2001, after partially morphing himself into a can of spray paint, Amazement Square's infamous Scorpy Bug was able to finally bring the rest of the LynchBugs the appreciation they deserve by replacing the word "death" with "respect."
As much as preserving the exterior of the J.W. Wood Building posed a challenge, transforming the interior of the building into a first-class, hands-on children's museum proved to be the biggest challenge of all. The building's heavy timber framing and partially-exposed, stone basement walls did not seem to provide the warmest and most playful environment for a children's museum. Luckily for Amazement Square, however, with the creativity and expertise of a talented staff and Board of Directors, local architects, contractors and fabricators, as well as exhibit designers, the building's rather austere interior was soon transformed into four floors of one-of-a-kind, hands-on learning that continue to welcome and delight children and families from across the nation.
After eight years of planning, community feedback, and a $7.8 million capital campaign, the J.W. Wood building was successfully transformed from an abandoned warehouse into a hands-on children’s museum. Because of the generosity of individuals, local businesses and the City of Lynchburg, the building's 29,000 square feet became the home of eight multidisciplinary exhibitions. To honor Mrs. Maylia G. Rightmire, who gave a lead contribution of $1 million to the campaign, in 2000 the museum was named The Rightmire Children's Museum. Addressing themes such as architectural appreciation, health awareness, cultural understanding and regional history, these exhibitions are a reflection of the museum's dedication to lifelong learning and commitment to preserving the past 150 years of Lynchburg's history.
In only its first seven years of operation, Amazement Square has earned national recognition with two Institute of Museum and Library Science “Museums for America” awards and an international Universal Design for Learning Award from the Association of Children’s Museums and Very Special Arts, an affiliate of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Amazement Square has shown that it can develop and implement programs and activities that are enjoyed by the whole community, such as the annual summer outdoor RiverFlick Film Series or the bi-annual cultural festivals. In 2007, Amazement Square opened the Rotary Centennial Riverfront Skatepark, originally a plan of the city’s, which Amazement Square was able to develop and actualize. Truly, in only a few short years, Amazement Square has proven itself to be an asset to the Central Virginia region.
The J.W. Wood Building has been many things to many people, but as of March 24, 2001, it became a place where individuals of all ages, backgrounds and abilities could interact and share the joy learning. Today it is not only a reminder of Lynchburg's past, but a symbol of its future, and has become the pioneer in the community's efforts to revitalize the riverfront and downtown neighborhoods.
Tomorrow During its formative years, the focus of Amazement Square was to reserve much of its facility for exhibit and programmatic activities, with an annual goal of serving 45,000 visitors. Now in its seventh year of operation and with an annual visitation of almost 90,000, the need for additional space has become critical.
Amazement Square plans to build a 29,000 square foot Education Center that will provide much needed space for school tours, workshops, special activities, and significant traveling exhibitions. Amazement Square is also renovating a historic train tunnel which runs underneath Jefferson Street, to create a state of the art exhibition called the Time Tunnel.
For more information about the museum’s Education Center and Time Tunnel, please go here.
The Guiding Principles of the Museum
Create a safe, hands-on, fun environment where children learn through play and
problem solving.
Develop exhibits, programs and outreach activities that encourage informal,
multidisciplinary and intergenerational learning.
Help visitors develop an appreciation for and understanding
of our region's diversity.
Enable children to learn about the literary, visual and performing arts; the
natural world and sciences; individuals and society.
Create educational and recreational opportunities that are sensitive to those
with special needs and accessible to the entire community of our region.
