Butterfly Festival at Beaver Creek Reserve

A new collaboration among three Chippewa Valley destinations – The Children’s Museum of Eau Claire, Beaver Creek Reserve, and The Chippewa Valley Museum – will make it easier and more cost effective for local families to belong to and enjoy all three. Effective April 1, the three establishments launched the Triple Play Membership which will allow families to purchase one membership at any of the partner locations for $190. That’s a 10 percent discount off the combined regular membership prices, and the Triple Play Membership allows access to all three for a year. 

The collaboration among the three nonprofit organizations has been in place for a long time for one-time events or fundraisers, but this membership will expand on that to allow for more programming involving all three. “With Triple Play, the goal is to create a longer-lasting impact and sense of belonging to families through membership,” said Michael McHorney, executive director of the Children’s Museum.

“The approach (that) we’re better together than apart is really what guides our collaboration. By bringing new and innovative concepts to the community we collectively serve, we’re attempting to bring collaboration among nonprofit organizations in our community to a different level than has happened before.” 

Brianne Markin, marketing and development coordinator at Beaver Creek Reserve, said the biggest benefit of the partnership will be the additional opportunities for programs. “Each of our organizations ultimately has the same goal and mission: to spark curiosity and encourage a love of learning,” Markin said. “And even though we each have a unique focus, there is so much overlap and so much potential for us to come together and share our particular knowledge base.”

The first true partnership event among the trio, according to Markin, will be Yuri’s Night at Beaver Creek’s Hobbs Observatory from 6:30-9:30pm on Thursday, April 12. The Children’s Museum will bring its inflatable planetarium to the observatory for a night of all things space. 

Representatives of all three organizations noted that the purpose of the Triple Play membership is not necessarily to benefit any one of the organizations, but rather to benefit the community. There is a practical element in the ease of maintaining one membership rather than juggling three, but program leaders are thinking bigger.

“Individuals and families will be developing deeper connections in the community,” Chippewa Valley Museum Director Carrie Ronannder said. “When there are connections, when people feel rooted to a place, they will invest more into making a place a good place to live. In very practical terms, this has the indirect benefit of helping Eau Claire and the region retain and grow its population.” 

To learn more, visit childrensmuseumec.com, cvmuseum.com, or beavercreekreserve.org.