There is a new attraction in Washington, D.C. and it has a local connection. The Wegmans Wonderplace opened Wednesday morning at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Wegmans said the exhibit has been years in the making and it all started with some smaller collaborations between Wegmans and the Smithsonian that culminated in the grand opening to the public of the Wegmans Wonderplace.
The Wegmans family stood with museum directors and local representatives in Congress to cut the ribbon on what is the first gallery for children ages 0-6 on the national mall. The 1,700 square foot, $1.5 million space holds artifacts from the museum's collection among the displays children can play with.
The gallery includes a farmstand, Julia Child's kitchen, a construction site and Smithsonian Castle. Kids can find animals, play with the fruits and vegetables and even look at the real museum artifacts that are on display within the space. Some of the displays were actually made by Wegmans' own craftspeople in Rochester and in collaboration with those at the Smithsonian to find the perfect fit.
“It’s such an iconic institution and it’s synonymous with our country in many ways. We’re just so proud to be part of that and we really hope that our industry makes a significant difference in people’s lives and Wegmans in particular we really try and do that. So, we’re really honored that we’re going to have a chance to show fruits, vegetables, fish to small people," said CEO Danny Wegman.
“We provide everything for families to experience and get engaged in American history, and what’s not to love? When you understand our stories and who we are, it’s very important to develop an appreciation at a very young age, particularly for history and history museums," said John Gray, National Museum of American History director.
“My husband and I are both educators and we love Wegmans, so just the idea of combining education and Wegmans together in the same place was exciting to us. We absolutely enjoy the aspect of incorporating early childhood learning, I think that is really important," said Keisha Matthews-Berry of Maryland.
"Five million visitors comes to this building, and a significant percentage are people who live in the Northeast, just because of proximity. So this is really something that is allowing is to invest in our bigger community, all of the places where we have stores and our employees and customers live," said Jo Natale, Wegmans Communications.
Many Wegkans employees from D.C. like Bill Taylor and his wife, came to be part of the celebration.
"Here Wegmans is putting its footprint not only as company but as a place in hisotry. It's pretty overwhelming- pretty cool. Driving down, looking at the Lincoln Memorial, the Robert E. Lee House, the Washington Monument and then there's Wegmans said, Bill Taylor, Wegmans Fairfax Employee."
In 2016, Wegmans will celebrate 100 years in business. Wegmans Wonderplace is helping usher in special year.
"We're going to build on the strengths that have gotten us here this far, the values of our company- trying to do the right thing and really to help people. Help people live better, healthier better lives through food and we think this is a wonderful symbol of that," said Colleen Wegman, Wegmans president.