Construction for the school will begin in June 2008, and since the middle school is closely integrated into the museum facility, it will not be possible to keep the museum open during construction. After Saturday, April 26, 2008, the NIHF facility will be closed to the public until the new addition is completed.

This summer, the NIHF offices currently in the building will relocate to a new space, where they will continue to oversee operations of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation and its programs. NIHF offices will remain open at their current location, 221 South Broadway, until their move.

Invent Now Kids, the organization’s subsidiary that runs the popular Camp Invention and Club Invention programs, will continue to run its programs out of its offices located on White Pond Drive in Akron and is looking forward to another record-breaking year.

In addition to opening the new middle school, which will be part of the Akron Public Schools, current plans for the museum building include a NIHF Gallery permanently located at the plaza level featuring invention and inventor-related exhibits. The exhibit floor will receive a fresh look and will be run by the Partnership for Invention and Creativity, a partnership among the City of Akron, the University of Akron, the Akron Public Schools, and the NIHF.  More will be unveiled on this project next month.

The partners are eagerly anticipating seeing these exciting features—the middle school, the gallery, and the museum floor—in their final forms and dedicated to different aspects of invention and creativity. 

Do you want to keep your kids involved in inventive programming and creative thinking without visiting the NIHF Museum? Take a look at Camp Invention, Club Invention, or www.inventnow.org to keep creative ideas flowing.