QUANTUM PHYSICS OR A SHRUB? Lily Pad Lab bills itself as a combined classroom,
playroom, and community space.

Vanessa Moessner left her job as a high school biology teacher a few years ago when she and her husband started a family. Eventually, however, the mother of three young children (who range in age from seven months to five years) got the itch to get out of the house and back into the classroom. In doing so, she faced a common parental dilemma.

“I couldn’t find anything that would allow me to have as much time with my kids as I wanted,” the Eau Claire woman explained recently.

Moessner’s desire to teach while also remaining directly involved in her children’s formative years led to the creation of her new business, a just-launched venture called Lily Pad Lab. The lab bills itself as a combined classroom, playroom, and community space for parents with children from birth to age 8. What makes Lily Pad Lab unique in the Chippewa Valley is that activities are aimed at both kids and their parents. In other words, it’s not a day care or drop-off spot but a place that fosters often-sought but frequently elusive quality time.

“It’s all about family time and really stressing that time to be able to be with your kids and having your kids learn,” Moessner says. “A lot of the adults learn things too.”

Lily Pad Lab got its start in 2011 when Moessner, who also operates an online newsletter for parents called Macaroni Kid, held a science class, an art class and then a dance class for young children in a family-owned office space on Farwell Street. The classes were successful and both children and parents enjoyed them, Moessner says. The science class involved children raising and releasing monarch butterflies.

“I love the experiences like that,” she explains. “The kids are learning and getting an experience, but the parents are able to share that with their kids.”

After teaching a handful of classes, Moessner decided to turn her idea into a full-scale business. With the help of Western Dairyland Community Action Agency, Moessner developed a business plan and entered Downtown Eau Claire Inc.’s Jump-Start Downtown Business Plan Competition, winning the honorable mention prize last year.

However, Moessner was unable to find an appropriate space for her business downtown and instead found a location at 2524 Golf Road (the commercial complex also houses CherryBerry, From the Vine, and Anytime Fitness). The first class, which combined music and Spanish for preschoolers, began in the 1,300-square-foot space on Jan. 29; more classes start the week of Feb. 4. Classes with February and March sessions include “Tiny Scientists,” “Art Lab,” “Lily Pad Test Kitchen,” “The Littlest Lab” (for children birth to age 2), and “Winter Wiggles.” Classes range in price from $36 to $65 and are taught in four to seven sessions. Special one-day events are also planned.

Moessner will teach the art and science classes (the first science class will involve learning about plants and using pint-sized scientific equipment) as well as the “Littlest Lab.” Amanda Brahmer will handle the cooking classes (which will involve parents and kids collaborating to make, then eat, lunch or dinner together), and Anita Wahl, a longtime piano teacher, is teaching the Spanish and music course with the help of Spanish-language learning songs she’s written.

In addition to the revolving slate of classes, Lily Pad Lab will be open from 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays for open playtime at a cost of $4 per child.
While taking a break from renovating the newly rented space in mid-January, Moessner said she’s looking forward to expand Lily Pad Lab’s roster to include larger-scale activities, especially as summer approaches.

“I would love it to be a place where every family knows they can come and have fun and have lots of different experiences ... and be connected as a community,” she said.

To learn more about Lily Pad Lab and to see a class schedule, visit lilypadlab.com or call 715-529-6186. The business is at 2524 Golf Road S2D, Eau Claire.