VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) — For years, Valdosta families have been hearing about the dream: a place built just for kids to explore, imagine, create, and see their futures take shape. A new grant is pushing that dream closer to reality.
- The Lettie Pate Evans Foundation awarded the Turner Center a $500,000 grant, boosting the project toward its $8.5M goal.
- The 10,000-sq-ft Imagination Station is scheduled to open May 2026 with hands-on, STEAM-focused exhibits.
- Watch the video below to see how the station will impact youth arts in the area.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The Meta Shaw Coleman Children’s Imagination Station has been in planning meetings, community surveys, and neighborhood conversations since 2023.
And now, a major push—a $500,000 grant from the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation—is moving the project toward an early opening in May 2026.
This 10,000-square-foot space will be part-museum, part-learning lab, part-creativity playground, something South Georgia has never had before.
During our three years of covering the Station, I’ve spoken with parents like Angel Butler, who’s looking forward to an investment in the future she wants for her children.
“So with my children being interested in math and science, it’ll keep them engaged and learning,” Butler said.
And I’ve also spoken to artists like Lindsay Walker whose kids grew up inside Valdosta’s creative spaces.
“You see the look on a child’s face when they’re exposed to new things…and knowing they’ll get that tenfold at a place like the Imagination Station. You just can’t put a price on that,” Walker said.
And now, all that anticipation has lead to this: a grand opening in six months.
“Aviation, the film industry, writing, healthcare…agriculture and forestry, it’s limitless what we’re going to be able to impact. It’s going to take a lot of hands and a lot of hearts, and we’re all on board for the mission ahead of us,” Executive Director Sementha Mathews says.
Mathews says this latest grant brings the Turner Center closer to its $8.5 million goal and closer to giving local kids a place to dream big right in their own backyard.
The Turner Center is still raising the last bit of funds, and you can track the entire project at turnercenter.org/childrensimaginationstation.
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