Children in Central Wisconsin have a new place to let their imaginations run wild. The new Central Wisconsin Children's Museum in Stevens Point is now open.

With more than three times the space of the old building, the new museum has a lot of room to grow, and museum leaders say they've worked hard to find the best way to use the new Main Street location.

"Because we purchased a building that was already existing, we needed to use a professional exhibit designer to help us really place our exhibits in the appropriate locations," said Katy Matthai, the museum's Executive Director.

Museum leaders say they also looked to nature to help get children's minds flowing.

"When we planned out the Children's Museum we put the Wisconsin River in the floor," said Penny Nichols, the Director of Marketing. "The Wisconsin River will lead children and families through the exhibits and kind of flow them through."

The new museum includes many of the old exhibits, like the art room, although it's an expanded version. They also created some new areas for children to play, including one with a connection to Newschannel 7.

"One new exhibit that we have this year is our 'Lights, Camera, Action,' where kids can be a news anchor or a weatherman, so that's very exciting," said Matthai.

Another important aspect of the museum isn't an exhibit at all, but rather just open space.

"Their imaginations are going to grow and they're going to take advantage of that space and do a little dance, and sit here by the boat and pretend to paddle and go fishing, and so I think the children are going to bring the exhibits to life through their imaginations," said Nichols.

Currently the museum is only open to members while some of the finishing touches are being worked on. They'll open their doors to the public on December 6th.

The museum is located at 1100 Main Street in Stevens Point. Family memberships are still available.