Wonder Works
| Established | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Location |
6445 West North Avenue Oak Park, IL 60302 |
| Coordinates | 41°54′N 87°48′W / 41.9°N 87.8°W |
| Type | Children's museum |
| Visitors | 55,000 (2008) |
| Director | Rachel Rettberg |
| Website | http://www.wonder-works.org |
Wonder Works is a children's museum, a non-profit corporation established in 2002, located in the village of Oak Park, Illinois. It is the successor to the Children's Museum of Oak Park, established in 1993. The museum is dedicated to the principle of offering a fun, largely self-directed playing and learning place for children.
Occupying its own building in one of the village's business districts, the museum attracted fifty thousand visitors in 2004. They enjoyed the facilities as drop-in visitors, as museum members, as birthday party invitees, or as special-event attendees.
The museum funds its operations by means of the sale of visitor day passes, yearly memberships, proceeds from special events, proceeds from toy-store sales, and direct grants. Special events generally include subscription-based concerts and the rental of a dedicated party room. In 2004 the museum was financially self-sufficient for operations.
It is managed by a board of directors comprising members of the local community; an executive director; an operations floor manager; a program manager; and a number of full-, part-time, or volunteer floor assistants.