DATE: Thursday, September 11, 1997          TAG: 9709110672

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   53 lines

NEW SECTION PLANNED AT CHILDREN'S MUSEUM BEAZLEY FOUNDATION DONATES $322,255 FOR OUTREACH AND EDUCATION ADDITION.

What once was the piece goods area of Leggett Department store now figures to be the Outreach and Education section of the expanded Children's Museum of Virginia.

Expect to hear children clicking away on computers and staff members teaching parents and teachers about the joys of hands-on learning.

The Beazley Foundation has donated $322,255 to this portion of the museum's second floor, scheduled for completion in June.

The expansion will almost double the museum space and add 28 exhibits and an area dedicated to an antique train and toy collection.

The Outreach and Education area will include a computer center with 12 to 15 computers and printers. Plans call for half the computers to have Internet access. This area also is set aside for classroom space and the offices of the museum's three-member Outreach and Education team.

The team offers training for parents and teachers on hands-on teaching techniques. Staff members also provide outreach programs for schools and civic events.

The team concentrates on programs and classes related to Children's Museum exhibits. The team also provides educational services to the city's other museums.

The team's current temporary workspace on the third floor of the museum has limited the scale of programs and services it has been able to offer, according to M.E. ``Betty'' Burnell, director of Portsmouth Museums.

Classrooms in the new area will be large enough for group rentals. Preschool and wheelchair-accessible sinks will be located in classrooms.

This educational wing of the museum is the second large gift from the Beazley Foundation.

The local philanthropic foundation contributed $475,000 toward the planetarium when the Children's Museum opened at 221 High St.

The planetarium is operated in partnership with the Portsmouth Public Schools.

Both gifts are in line with the Beazley Foundation's emphasis on funding programs that benefit young people.

The foundation was founded 50 years ago with funds provided by the late Frederick W. Beazley and his family.

The Beazley donation brought contributions to $450,000 - 30 percent of the $1.5 million the Portsmouth Museums Foundation has committed to raise for the second phase of the museum.

The rest of the estimated $3.5 million will be financed with public funds.

Other private sector donations to date have included $25,000 from the Portsmouth Community Trust and $5,000 from the estate of Arthur and Millie Lancaster.

The Lancasters gave their train and toy collection, valued at $850,000, to the museum before the millionaire nurseryman died.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu