Sheboygan children’s museum receives $100K anonymous gift

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Above and Beyond Children’s Museum received an anonynmous $100,000 donation.

It is the largest programming donation in the museum’s history.

The gift will support the museum’s 2025/2026 budgets allowing for extended evening hours, pilot programs for families who have children with disabilities, and “Play is Healing” extensions. The current plan is to extend hours on Wednesdays from 4-7 p.m.

A major focus of the expansion is “Play for All” sessions set to begin in mid-September with dedicated evening hours designed in partnership with the disability community. Designed to meet diverse sensory, communication, and social/emotional needs, “Play for All” will support a range of access needs for children and families.

“We are so grateful to our community for their support as we work to expand our inclusive program reach,” said  Cate Tinker, executive director of Above & Beyond Children’s Museum. “This gift allows us to better support working families, parents and caregivers, and children with disabilities. It represents our community’s commitment to ensuring that all children have access to the joy and learning that comes through play.”

The museum is connecting with multiple community partners including Rogers Behavioral Health, the Down Syndrome Association of Wisconsin, Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin, Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center Hospital Staff, and Prevea Health about its programming expansions.

To further enhance accessibility, Above & Beyond Children’s Museum will purchase the parking lot adjacent to the museum located at 816 Niagara Ave. from the city of Sheboygan which will be converted to include at least two ADA parking spaces. Two anonymous donors contributed to the approximately $50,000 fee for the purchase and conversion of the parking lot that was previously city-managed. The museum will utilize the parking lot for both staff and museum visitors.