The Neville Public Museum in downtown Green Bay. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A merger between the Neville Public Museum and The Children’s Museum of Green Bay won’t be happening.
A task force formed in May to explore the possibility made the decision during a meeting Monday morning.
“The Neville Public Museum and the Children’s Museum of Green Bay should suspend exploration of a merged organization and shared occupancy within the Public Museum facility, allowing each institution to pursue its own strategic vision, growth opportunities, and organizational priorities,” reads a recommendation from the Museum Task Force in a summary report of the Aug. 17 meeting.
The task force recommends The Children’s Museum of Green Bay works on finding new site options as it looks to expand.
“To position itself for success, the museum should reimagine its future vision and secure a long-term home,” reads the task force’s recommendation.
Children’s museum executive director Toni Burnett issued this statement:
We are not surprised by the Task Force recommendation and excited about what comes next for The Children’s Museum of Green Bay.
The vision behind Reaching New Heights is still very much alive. What has changed is that we now have an opportunity to look more broadly at where and how that vision can best move forward.
We are very pleased that the City of Green Bay and the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation want to stay engaged with us as we look at options for a long-term home. The Foundation has also committed financial support to help with that process.
We look forward to bringing more community voices into the conversation. For us, this is not an ending. It is a chance to take a bigger look at the future and make sure we get it right for the children and families we serve.
My hope is in the coming days we can expand on this message.
For the Neville, the task force recommends exploring opportunities that include new leadership to identify new community partners and making stronger use of underutilized space.
County Executive Troy Streckenbach says he will go ahead with hiring a new museum director. He also thanked the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation for leading the exploration of a merger.
Previous task force documents that Brown County Supervisor Pat Evans shared shows Sommerville Architects estimated a renovation of the existing Neville building would have cost about $5 million, while a 10,000 to 12,000 square foot expansion would cost about $10 million.
“Certainly space was an issue, finances was an issue, the vision — differences between the Neville Museum and The Children’s Museum was an issue,” said Dan Theno, a Brown County supervisor and member of the Museum Task Force.
Greater Green Bay Community Foundation President Dennis Buehler, who helped lead the task force, says this outcome is not uncommon.
“I think we’re seeing nonprofits on a regular basis who are challenged with either underutilized space or revenue challenges that really have to consider these options,” said Buehler. “If it doesn’t work, it’s ok, we celebrate what they are and who they are and what other opportunities they might have.”
The task force included representatives from the Neville, the Neville’s foundation, the Children’s Museum’s board, and the Brown County Board of Supervisors. Streckenbach, Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich and staff members from the museums and Greater Green Bay Community Foundation were also part of the group.
There was public criticism of the possibility of the two museums merging after Streckenbach said in May he was exploring potential partnerships for the Neville — particularly with the Children’s Museum.
The task force held an initial visioning session on May 20 at the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation offices, according to the task force document.
Evans said he remains concerned that the county has not hired an executive director for the Neville.
Mike Reed, former director of the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, was named the interim director for the museum in June.
The Children’s Museum of Green Bay welcomes more than 70,000 visitors each year, according to Burnett. County documents show the Neville had 41,156 visitors in 2025.
About $1 million of Brown County’s budget goes to Neville operations. Admission revenue in 2025 was $177,301.
“The Neville will be looking at other parties to come into the Neville building itself and also maybe changes in its mission, particularly maybe offering more opportunities for younger people,” said Theno.
The children’s museum began a fundraising campaign in 2024 to more than double its interior space. Its current location is about 10,000 square feet. The expansion at the current location would bring it to 26,000 square feet.
The Neville has about 66,000 square feet, but it’s unclear how much of that is public space.
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