Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Fries.
Hi Kristen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am an Edwardsville native and received a B.S. in Science Preprofessional Studies from the University of Notre Dame and an Masters in Education from Loyola University. I started my career in Chicago where I earned the AmeriCorps Award for National Service while serving as a volunteer teacher and spent more than 10 years in educational publishing. However, my heart was always with my hometown. After moving back in 2016, I found the Edwardsville Children’s Museum and really enjoyed bringing my young children there to play and learn. My love of the Museum, combined with my professional experience, led my to apply to join the ECM board of directors.
As board president, I helped lead a complete overhaul of the Museum’s leadership, structure, and strategy, resulting in consistent profitability for the first time in its 20-year history. In September 2021, I served as interim director, and four months later, stepped into the role of executive director. In addition to curating educational exhibits and planning community events, I focus on building collaborations and partnerships to help ECM—along with all of our young visitors—grow and thrive.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Leading a growing organization is challenging, but we work hard to set clear goals, both short and long term, and consistently take steps to accomplish them. The result has been incredible growth, with our memberships and attendance, and also with our exhibit offerings.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The Edwardsville Children’s Museum is a nonprofit organization with interactive, immersive exhibits that educate and inspire visitors from across Metro St. Louis and Southern Illinois. In addition, we offer programming for newborns through 12 years of age.
Our mission is to provide a magical, inclusive, and community-activated space where every child can boldly ignite the power of play and joyfully craft their own learning experience.
My role at the museum is to collaborate with an amazing team of female leaders, board of directors, and community partners to help the museum grow and thrive.
I am very proud of the expansion we opened in the spring of 2024, doubling the size of the Discovery Garden. The new exhibits, including a roadway, garage repair shop, filling station, water table, and fairytale treehouse, have made the experience of visiting ECM even more special.
One aspect of ECM that is really unique is our emphasis on environmental education through our exhibits and programming. The Discovery Garden is filled with native plants, a sensory garden, and our filling station has a green roof. Exhibit displays throughout the garden feature information about pollinators, rain water collection, composting, and our micro forest, located just two miles away. We strive to teach our visitors to become environmental stewards.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
We are thrilled to be experiencing so much growth year after year! We hope this trend continues and plan to meet this demand by continuing to update our space and add new offerings.
Pricing:
- $10 for children 1 year and older
- $8 for adults
- We are a proud participant in Museums for All, offering free admission to families and schools who would not otherwise be able to visit the museum.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.edwcm.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwardsville_childrens_museum/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edwardsvillechildrensmuseum/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmRC8PKCSRVTvFMEMiWHfYA
