TRUCKEE, Calif. – When Shana Wapstra first moved to Lake Tahoe 25 years ago, winter hit harder than she expected. She had a baby in her arms, a young child tugging at her sleeve, and snow piling high against the door.

Then one afternoon, while juggling exhaustion, a neighbor asked her a simple question: “Have you heard about the KidZone?”

Her ears perked up. At the time, it was a small nonprofit tucked into a storefront near a 7-Eleven in Truckee; a cozy children’s museum filled with color, warmth, and laughter.

“As I got busier and busier with the kids,” Wapstra said, “it was always such a nice respite.”

As the years passed and two more children joined the family, the KidZone became more than just a play space for her kids. It became her family’s anchor.

She watched her oldest, once a toddler chasing other kids across the playroom floor, grow into a cross-country runner who still carries that same determined spark; her son, who used to dress up in costumes from the KidZone’s overflowing wardrobe, discover his love for theater; and her youngest, who first tinkered with robotics as a KidZone volunteer, go on to become a mechanical engineer.

“Anyone who’s been involved with the KidZone knows what a magical place it is,” Wapstra said with a smile.

Today, she serves on the museum’s board of directors, helping ensure that same magic continues for the next parent who walks through those doors with a baby in their arms and hope in their heart.

Founded in 1992, the KidZone Museum has grown into a cornerstone for early childhood learning and play in Truckee. The museum welcomes more than 30,000 visits each year, a 500% increase since it first opened.

The nonprofit’s mission is to inspire learning through creative play and discovery, offering hands-on exhibits primarily designed for children under age 7. The museum also hosts camps and school programs for elementary students and provides volunteer opportunities for teenagers seeking service-learning experience.

The organization offers scholarship memberships to ensure every child — especially those facing poverty, language barriers, or disabilities — can access its programs.

But as the museum’s impact and reach have grown, its small building has not kept pace.

The current structure is showing its age. It is deteriorating, often crowded, and at capacity for at least 30 days each year. After enduring countless Sierra storms, staff have wondered if “the duct tape will hold.”

To address these challenges, the KidZone Museum is launching an ambitious expansion project, a new facility designed to broaden its capacity and educational reach.

“The idea of growth has been present from the very beginning,” Wapstra said.

The new museum will feature immersive spaces designed to spark imagination, creativity, and resilience. The Play Floor will offer interactive exhibits and a custom climbing structure, including a Forest Lookout Climber, Saplings Infant Toddler Area, and imaginative play exhibits inspired by Sierra stories.

The STEAM Center will provide a hands-on creativity lab for children ages 5 and up, encouraging experimentation with art, electricity, chemistry, and nature.

Outside, the Great Outdoors will span 9,000 square feet, giving children room to climb, explore, and connect with nature, a critical part of the museum’s goal to foster emotional well-being and confidence.

The project will unfold in two construction phases.

• Phase 1 will include the Play Floor, STEAM Center, Sunrise Spot, and Great Outdoors area, with a total cost of $10 million.
• Phase 2 will add a 4,000-square-foot space focused on older youth, featuring interactive experiences such as the Ebb and Flow River Exploration, Collaborative Build, traveling exhibits, the Den creative studio for teens, and a café teaching kitchen. That phase is projected to cost an additional $4 million.

The nonprofit has already raised approximately $7 million in donations, pledges, and gifts in kind. Once another $2 million is secured, phase 1 construction is expected to begin, a process projected to take about 18 months.

The Museum is currently seeking additional donors to help close the funding gap, offering naming opportunities for individuals, families, or foundations wishing to honor someone special.

“Every single dollar will help grow this vision,” Wapstra said.