While on vacation last February, Tabatha Finnegan and her 2-year-old daughter visited a world where children make fascinating discoveries, imagine limitless possibilities and play fearlessly.

That seemingly magical place wasn't Neverland or even Wonderland. It was a children's museum.

And the only problem was that it was located in North Carolina, far from the Finnegans' Keeseville home.

"We're in such a wonderful location," said Finnegan, "There's no reason why we couldn't have something like that here."

So Finnegan, a third-grade teacher at Keeseville Elementary School, began looking into what it would take to create a children's museum close to home.

"The whole concept of a children's museum stems from having a place to take your children and have them be able to touch everything and interact and discover," she said, "and really be in awe of the things that are around them."

Finnegan created a Facebook page devoted to the topic and quickly discovered that she wasn't the only one who liked the idea.

Fellow mothers Jodie Osborne and Jennifer Meschinelli, both of Peru, embraced Finnegan's museum vision, and the Imaginarium Children's Museum of the North Country was born.

The museum has been granted a provisional charter from the State Education Department, as well as membership from the Association of Children's Museums.

A team of eight committees, dedicated to such things as fundraising, marketing and exhibit design, is currently working to bring the Imaginarium to life. They are also in the process of applying for federal recognition of the museum as a nonprofit organization.

"There's a whole team behind us," said Osborne, a third-grade teacher at Peru Intermediate School and vice president of operations for the museum. "We're go-getters, but we have to have a team."

While the museum does not yet have a venue, the team is hoping to secure a temporary location in the Plattsburgh area within the next four months.

"We need a big, open space that will allow room for temporary moveable exhibits, a place to hold events (and) have a small amount of office space," said Meschinelli, a professor of journalism at Plattsburgh State and director of development for the museum. "We're investigating prospects, and we're hoping someone will come forward with possible space for us to use."

The temporary space would allow for the community to get a taste of the project while enough money could be raised to construct a permanent home for the museum.

But no matter the venue, Finnegan, Osborne and Meschinelli know the Imaginarium will be a place where parents, grandparents and educators can spend time with the children in their lives.

"Parents can let loose and really relax and enjoy their kids and play too," said Finnegan, executive board president of the museum.

"It's all about the spark that brings back childhood memories and things that you can share."

Between the three of them, the women have visited 18 children's museums in other areas over the past year to get ideas for exhibits and content. But the Imaginarium, while inspired by other children's museums, will be unique.

"It's going to be original, based on what the community and the North Country want to see," Finnegan said.

Exhibits will have educational components, allowing children to discover artistic and scientific truths through exploration and play.

"It's about play," Meschinelli said. "It's about letting kids have unstructured play. They're learning, but they don't realize."

Osborne explained that all subject areas, including math, science, history, art and music, will be represented at the museum. And each exhibit will be multifaceted, containing interactive components for children of all ages.

"Each exhibit (will be) interpreted by each kid differently," Meschinelli said.

The museum team also plans to hold programming for teens at the Imaginarium, as well as provide space for both community and private events.

"We want this to be community space, and we want a versatile space," Meschinelli said.

The women hope to break ground on a permanent home for the museum within two to three years, but even at its final venue, they said, the Imaginarium will continue to evolve.

While some of the museum's exhibits will be permanent, others will be rotating and traveling, and the exhibits committee will conduct ongoing research to determine how to best meet the needs and wants of patrons.

Meschinelli also envisions input from local companies, which may want to design educational exhibits about the products or services they provide the community.

Along with enriching the lives of area children, Osborne anticipates that the Imaginarium will attract out-of-towners to the area and make Plattsburgh an especially appealing place for families with children.

"Having a children's museum would be a huge draw," Osborne said.

Finnegan explained that the Imaginarium is intended to complement other museums in the area, not compete with them.

The team is currently holding a lottery to raise start-up funds for the museum. Tickets are being sold during the month of January for $5 each, and ticket holders will have the chance to win $25 to $50 every evening in February.

In addition to funding, the museum crew also welcomes any volunteers interested in becoming involved with the project.

For more information about the Imaginarium Children's Museum of the North Country or to purchase lottery tickets, visit imaginariumchildrensmuseum.org or the museum's Facebook page.

Email Ashleigh Livingston at: alivingston@pressrepublican.com