A Place for Children

Retired superintendent Robin Battershell embraces role as board president of Temple Children’s Museum

By Amy Rognlie | Photos by SKEEBO and courtesy of ROBIN BATTERSHELL

Bet you didn’t know Temple now boasts its own children’s museum! And with retired Temple Independent School District superintendent Dr. Robin Battershell at its helm as board president, the fledgling Temple Children’s Museum is in expert hands.

“I think the biggest contribution to the community is for what the museum can be. This community has the ability to take this museum to a whole new level that is very individualized to our community,” Battershell said. “There are so many possibilities.”

Through their connections and hard work, a group of women realized their dream of opening the Temple Children’s Museum, which is designed for children ages 0-8. It began operating with pop-up exhibits in 2016 and opened a permanent location on Fourth Street in June 2021.

The museum staff strives to provide a hands-on interactive experience between parent and child with their imaginative and ever-changing STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) exhibits in the 8,500-square-foot building. Many of the exhibits, such as a crawl-in cave complete with bats and bugs, are constructed on-site by creative volunteers and staff. Other popular exhibits include an art station, music wall, veterinarian’s office, kitchen, construction zone, art corner, puppetry, stage, engineering area and a grocery store named “The Peacham Market of Temple.”

“We don’t want to duplicate what our other fine museums are doing in this area, we want to enhance Central Texas’ opportunities for entertainment and education,” Battershell said.

Future plans for the museum include adding some classroom space indoors and building a small-scale interactive model of the city outside in the courtyard. A move to a bigger building on Second Street is in the works in the next few years, where the museum will be able to have even more room for exhibits and classroom space.

“We want to connect kids to the community and expose them to these big ideas…help them become successful,” Battershell said.

In the meantime, the staff works hard to make all the exhibits portable so they can take the museum, either as school programs or pop-up exhibits around the city, straight to the children.

In her “spare” time when she’s not working at the museum, Battershell is busy with her other post-retirement adventure: beekeeping. “I wanted to do something very, very different,” she said. “Beekeeping piqued my curiosity — still does.”

When she decided to retire from Temple ISD, Battershell thought beekeeping was a great connection to her dad and the family farm that would also be good for the world. She and her son named their bee company Grandpa Bill’s Honey Farms to honor her dad. The Battershells have 22 hives and bottle their own honey, which they sell by word of mouth. They also offer bee removal.

“We have learned so much and still have so much more to learn. My husband has recently joined our venture and we keep pretty busy for six months out of the year,” Battershell said. “It’s something new to learn. My brain can’t go stagnant. … I can’t live that way.”

IF YOU GO
Temple Children’s Museum
11 N. Fourth St., Temple
Email: templechildrensmuseum@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/templechildrensmuseum
Hours: 9 to 11 a.m. Monday-Wednesday and the first and second Saturday of each month; Thursdays and Fridays are reserved for private parties, camps and other special events.
Admission: $7 (first parent admitted free); reservations are currently required for all sessions. Call 254-500-7617.