A CROWDFUNDING EFFORT through the Michigan-based platform Patronicity has been launched to help pay for work at the new Imagination Factory Community Center in Iron Mountain, including adding a new Tiny Town exhibit. (Submitted photo)

LANSING, Mich. — A vacant historic middle school building in Iron Mountain will be transformed into the new Imagination Factory Community Center and become home to a new Tiny Town exhibit as well.

This effort will be fulfilled through the anticipated success of a crowdfunding campaign that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Imagination Factory Children’s Museum announced today, which is being offered through the Michigan-based crowdfunding platform Patronicity.

If the campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $50,000 by April 3, the project will win a matching grant with funds made possible by MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places program.

For project details and to donate, please visit: patronicity.com/tinytown.

“The preservation and reinvigoration of this historic institution will allow the community of Iron Mountain to have a beloved space for gathering that also honors its cultural history,” MEDC Regional Prosperity Managing Director Paula Holtz said. “We are pleased to support and provide resources for this project through our Public Spaces Community Places program.”

The Imagination Factory Children’s Museum was established in 2020 and over the past 4.5 years the museum has outgrown its present facility. The exhibits that target children from birth to grade 4 would move from the current 3,000-square-foot space into a 13,000-square-foot, first-floor location featuring five exhibit rooms, a party room, movement room, family resource center, commercial kitchen and Gus Macker Cafe. The second floor would be renovated to host activities, programs and trainings for students in fifth through 12th grades, featuring a training room with a capacity space for 120 individuals, plus four training breakout rooms; and a third floor to be utilized for office space, catering and public forum space to accommodate 150 individuals.

A 2024 Community Center Grant awarded from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the 2025 Patronicity campaign will support the Children’s Museum opening on the first floor of the Community Center featuring the new expanded Tiny Town. The expansion of the Tiny Town exhibit includes the Village Square, 10 community buildings with interactive play features, three new children’s exhibits, and a large multi-media entertainment screen with educational movies on nature, academics and geography. Bringing Tiny Town to life will be the centerpiece of the entire 37,000-square-foot community center. Young children love to visit each building and spend time loving to learn.

“I have come to know the folks that run the Imagination Factory Children’s Museum and have utmost trust and respect for the much larger vision that they are presenting for the new community center,” said Ed Farrington, past president of M.J. Electric. “Tiny Town will be a place that will breathe life into our community!”

Public Spaces Community Places is a collaborative effort of the MEDC, the Michigan Municipal League and Patronicity, in which local residents can use crowdfunding to be part of the development of strategic projects in their communities and be backed with a matching grant from MEDC. Communities, nonprofits and other business entities can apply at https://patronicity.com/puremichigan.

“Museums are a great way to both preserve a community’s history and provide unique learning opportunities for residents and visitors,” said Dan Gilmartin, executive director and CEO of the Michigan Municipal League. “This project not only preserves a historic structure but also renews the educational function of the original school building for a new generation of learners. Tiny Town is a worthy investment in Iron Mountain’s future.”

The Public Spaces Community Places initiative started in 2014 with MEDC providing matched funding of up to $50,000 for community improvement projects throughout Michigan. As of Jan. 24, MEDC has provided more than $13.6 million in matching grants. Since the launch of the program, 397 projects have been successful in reaching their goal, with more than $15.4 million raised from 73,843 individual donors. Communities have a 97% success rate in achieving their goals and earning matching funds.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. 

For more information on the MEDC and its initiatives, go to www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan tourism information, go to www.michigan.org.