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August 9, 2007

Group ponders how to 'Save the Met'

Julie Huss

DERRY | They come here to explore, meet new friends and have fun.

For the children who enjoy entering the colorful spaces at the Children's Metamorphosis Museum, it's a day of play. For their families, it's a chance to bring the children to a safe environment to learn and share quality time with parents and friends.

The Children's Met announced a few weeks ago it would close later this month and is now on a mission to raise much-needed money to keep the museum's doors open.

About 20 supporters gathered at The Met on Tuesday night to brainstorm ways to keep the popular play place from closing. The museum faces eviction from its downtown location Aug. 31 unless the "Save the Met" campaign proves successful in keeping it open.

The nonprofit organization was established in 1991 and moved from its original North Londonderry location to downtown Derry in 2002. Renovations to the new space, growing debt and lack of corporate support forced the museum to fall behind in paying its monthly lease fee.

After the "Save the Met" campaign was launched last week, support has been positive, said Met Executive Director Tracy LaPlante.

One big vote of support came from Londonderry yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, pledging $10,000 over three years to help keep the struggling museum open.

As part of Stonyfield's Profits for the Planet initiative, the money would be used for the museum's operating expenses and a new exhibit aimed at educating young patrons about organic farming.

"The Met is a perfect match for our efforts to encourage healthy food, healthy kids, and a healthy planet," Stonyfield Senior Product Manager Maureen Wolpert said.

Immediate goals for the "Save the Met" campaign include raising $50,000 to cover short-term debt and avoid eviction. Other plans include gaining more exhibit and corporate sponsorship, telephone and e-mail appeals, raffles, and business initiatives. Those attending Tuesday's meeting included representatives from mothers clubs and other local groups who voiced their support.

"We knew that the families all over Southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts who love the Met would respond to help us stay open," LaPlante said. "We are a member organization and the members have spoken and said they don't want us to go."

On a typical day at the Met, LaPlante said groups representing area preschools and child-care facilities come to the museum to play. Some regulars have been frequenting the Met for years, while it's the first time for others. Still, if the museum closed, many agreed it would leave quite a void.

Amy Fillion of Lisa's Tippy Toes preschool in Merrimack said the school has been bringing children to the Met for as long as it has been open.

"We've been coming here with all age groups, and come here several times a year," she said during one weekday morning visit. "We have 16 here today and we're bummed (if the Met closes)."

Rosalind Hamlin, a teacher with Joyful Noise Learning Center in Bow, said her children love to come to the Met and they try to visit several times a year.

"The kids love it," she said. "We're hoping it stays open."

Julie Levasseur came from Dracut, Mass., to allow her children to play at the Met.

"This is our first time here," she said. "It's wonderful and it's good for the little ones."

Longtime Met staffer Brad Dicenzo has spent 13 years at the museum, from his early years as a youth volunteer to his position now as an official employee. Dicenzo said he would hate to see the museum close and hopes he can share this space with his own child.

"He loves it here," Dicenzo said of his toddler son. "I love it, and want it to be around for my children so they can continue to play here."

LaPlante said she would meet with the museum's landlord, Derry Depot Square Holdings LLC, this week to discuss plans to raise money to pay the back rent and other costs to see if the Met can meet its Aug. 31 goal.

To learn more about the "Save the Met" campaign, call 425-2560. Information and pledge sheets also are available online at www.savethemet.org.



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