By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM — The North Country Children’s Museum plans to open to the public before the end of the month following completion of a handicap-accessible ramp.

Even though the museum hosted field trips from several St. Lawrence County schools, the ramp must be completed before the public can visit, according to Sharon Williams, executive director of the museum.

“The Village of Potsdam supervisor, Greg Thompson, and code enforcement officer, Lisa Newby, have been incredibly helpful working with us and moving this last piece of the project forward,” she said. “We had a full calendar of field trips from schools around St. Lawrence county already scheduled for the month of June, so the village gave us a permit so we could allow those groups to come.”

Once the bottom portion of the ramp is finished, the museum will open.

“We have been working on the ramp and waiting for the bottom third to be completed…then we can open doors fully to the public.”

The museum received donated steel plates from Jefford's Steel so they can finish the work sooner.

The Northern New York Community Foundation provided $15,000 so the ramp could be constructed. "The museum is incredibly grateful to NNYCF for the support," Williams said.

“We have had a lot of interest and we know many are eager to come and we can't wait to begin serving the public,” Williams said.

Anyone interested can purchase a membership now at www.northcountrychildrensmuseum.org/. Memberships start when we open doors and last for 12 months.

“We are also offering two fun summer camps that people can read about and register for on our website,” Williams said.

The museum was six years and nearly a million dollars in the making.

The museum is in “The Red Barn” facing the parking lot at 10 Raymond St.

There are six main exhibits: The Maple Tree, which will show the change of seasons once every hour; Adirondack Waterplay, flowing water illustrating the North Country’s rivers, ecosystems and hydropower dams; STEAM Power, inviting exploration of science, technology, engineering, art, and math; an early-childhood Playspace, for pre-schoolers aged four and under; Kids Co-op and Bakery, a pretend grocery store; and Construction Zone, where kids can imagine, design and work on building “projects.”

In addition, there is a program room of exhibits and participatory programs that will change every Saturday.