Busy Brains Children's Museum Holding Fundraiser May 4

For the past eight years, the Busy Brains Children's Museum has been trying to find a permanent location for exhibits that stress the power of play.

The museum's hands-on exhibits have traveled to various venues around Lake County since the museum's inception in 2004, visiting places like fairs and day care centers. Now, however, the Busy Brains Children's Museum is close to purchasing property, including a building, in Lake Villa.

The museum will hold its fourth annual fundraiser May 4 at the Lehmann Mansion, 485 N. Milwaukee Ave., Lake Villa. The event, which will be held from 7 to 11 p.m., will feature a cash bar, live music, silent auction and 50/50 raffle. Proceeds from the "Brain Builder 2013: Mingle at the Mansion" event will help Busy Brains bring a children's museum to Lake County.

"We've been trying to raise awareness of what we're trying to do," said Heidi Alexander, president of Busy Brains Children's Museum, which was founded by Alison Price and Kathy Goers. "It is definitely something I'm passionate about, as are Alison and Kathy."

The small, traveling exhibits that the museum has offered so far have included "Geariosity," which features a giant board of gears that children can move around, along with "Mystery of Flight," a Bernoulli Box that "teaches children about air flow and how airplanes stay aloft," according to the museum's website. Alexander said there are about a dozen exhibits.

Plans are already underway for the exhibits that will be featured at the museum's permanent location. Museum officials are working with an architect who has worked on children's museums around the country. Alexander said the exhibits will all be based on the Lake County area.

"We already have a ton of the groundwork in place," said Alexander.

She is hoping that once the property has been secured, the permanent museum can open a couple of years later.

'Mingle at the Mansion'

Alexander said the fundraiser at Lake Villa's Lehmann Mansion in May could serve as the kickoff for the museum's capital campaign.

"It should be a really great fundraiser," she said. This will be the second year the fundraiser has been held at the Lehmann Mansion; the first two years were at Mickey Finn's in Libertyville.

Alexander said the fundraiser will have a Cinco de Mayo theme. The cost to attend is $50 per ticket, and the tickets are available on the Busy Brains Children's Museum website.