I AM Children’s Museum Is Coming to Winter Garden: What It Means for Horizon West and West Orange Families
West Orange County has never had a children’s museum to call its own. That is set to change with I AM Children’s Museum, a nonprofit-led, hands-on destination planned near downtown Winter Garden that pairs indoor and outdoor learning with a direct link to the West Orange Trail. Here is what is planned, where the county funding stands, and what it could mean for families across Horizon West.
A conceptual rendering of I AM Children’s Museum, the hands-on children’s museum planned at 971 E. Plant Street near downtown Winter Garden. Conceptual rendering only; the final design may change.
Image: I AM Children’s Museum
What to Know
The I AM Children’s Museum project in brief
A first-of-its-kind destination for West Orange, built by a local nonprofit to help children learn through creative arts, literacy, imaginative play and outdoor exploration.
A first for Orange County. A nonprofit, hands-on children’s museum planned at 971 E. Plant Street near downtown Winter Garden, filling a gap the region has not had a dedicated space for until now.
Roughly 35,000 sq ft of experiences. About 20,000 square feet indoor and 12,000 square feet outdoor on a 2.57-acre campus, plus a restored 1926 historic home welcome center and more than two miles of Discovery Trails.
Connected to the West Orange Trail. Direct trail connectivity and a location minutes from SR 429, Highway 50 and Florida’s Turnpike, with a parking garage and golf-cart access in the plans.
West Orange County is full of young families, yet the region has never had a children’s museum of its own. According to reporting by Horizon West Happenings, that is what 8 Waves, a Winter Garden-based nonprofit, wants to change with I AM Children’s Museum, a hands-on learning destination planned at 971 E. Plant Street near downtown Winter Garden.
The concept is built around participation rather than passive exhibits. Current plans invite children to create art, sew and sculpt, run a café, care for a patient, fly a plane, build structures and solve real-world problems, then carry that exploration outdoors through nature-based play. The museum’s guiding idea is captured in a short phrase organizers repeat often: I Am Capable. I Am Ready. I Am.
What’s planned at 971 E. Plant Street
The 2.57-acre campus is designed to hold roughly 35,000 square feet of museum experiences: about 20,000 square feet of indoor exhibits, another 12,000 square feet of outdoor eco-educational space, and a 2,707-square-foot historic home, built in 1926, that will serve as the welcome center. More than two miles of Discovery Trails would wind through the site and tie directly into the West Orange Trail.
Organizers have been clear that the outdoor experience is central to the vision, not an afterthought. The site sits minutes from SR 429, Highway 50 and Florida’s Turnpike and just up Plant Street from downtown Winter Garden, and plans include a parking garage and golf-cart access to help manage traffic in a growing downtown area.
The nonprofit behind the museum: 8 Waves
I AM Children’s Museum is a project of 8 Waves, a Winter Garden nonprofit founded by Sara Meyer that works with students facing barriers across Orange County, Lake County and Central Florida. The organization grew out of Meyer’s work with children in the East Winter Garden community and focuses on four areas: education recovery, wrap-around care, life experiences and career pathways.
That track record is part of what makes the museum different. It is not being designed by a group guessing at what children need. It is growing out of years of direct work with local students and families. In 2025 alone, 8 Waves reported reaching about 2,000 students, providing 26,000 meals and distributing 15,000 hygiene kits.
The project also cleared a key local step: the Winter Garden City Commission approved a 30-year ground lease allowing 8 Waves to develop and operate on the city-owned Plant Street property, along with the relocation of the 1926 home to the museum site to serve as its welcome center.
Where the county funding stands
The museum is moving through Orange County’s Tourist Development Tax process, the bed tax paid by visitors staying in local hotels and short-term rentals that funds tourism-related projects. A citizens task force recommended it among a group of projects for TDT consideration. The proposal carries an estimated cost of roughly $30 million, with organizers seeking up to $25 million in TDT support.
No final award has been made. County commissioners accepted the task force recommendations and asked staff to run further financial analysis on the projects, including potential funding schedules and frameworks, before the Board of County Commissioners decides how the money is ultimately allocated. Organizers estimate the finished museum could draw about 250,000 visitors a year and are exploring hotel-partner shuttles to ease traffic downtown.
Community support has been visible throughout. An executive committee of roughly 20 local professionals and leaders is helping guide the project, and when supporters were recently encouraged to contact county leaders, more than 200 people emailed the Orange County Mayor and commissioners directly.
I AM Children’s Museum by the numbers
The figures matter because this would be a first for the region: a dedicated, locally rooted children’s museum that West Orange families have not had before.
A light real estate read on the project
For West Orange, a locally rooted children’s museum is a different kind of amenity than a theme park or a national attraction. It becomes part of everyday family life: a rainy-day destination, a field-trip resource, a place families return to through different stages of childhood. Amenities that anchor daily routines tend to strengthen the case for a neighborhood over time.
For homeowners near Plant Street and across Horizon West, Windermere, Oakland and Ocoee, a walkable, trail-connected cultural asset fits the direction West Orange has been heading: growth that adds something families can use, rather than growth that only adds traffic. When a move is on your radar, that kind of neighborhood context is worth weighing.
The Takeaway
I AM Children’s Museum would fill a real gap: Orange County families have not had a dedicated children’s museum, and West Orange has rarely seen tourism dollars invested back on the west side of the county. A 2.57-acre, trail-connected campus built by a nonprofit with a track record of serving local students is a meaningful answer to both.
Watch the county funding decision. If the TDT process lands and the plan holds, Winter Garden could gain a community asset that families across Horizon West use for a generation.
FAQ
What is I AM Children’s Museum?
I AM Children’s Museum is a planned nonprofit, hands-on children’s museum in Winter Garden, Florida, led by the local nonprofit 8 Waves. It is designed around creative arts, literacy, imaginative play, real-world experiences and outdoor exploration, and would be the first dedicated children’s museum in Orange County.
Where will it be located?
At 971 E. Plant Street near downtown Winter Garden, on a 2.57-acre campus that connects directly to the West Orange Trail and sits minutes from SR 429, Highway 50 and Florida’s Turnpike.
How big will it be and what is inside?
Plans call for roughly 35,000 square feet of experiences: about 20,000 square feet of indoor exhibits, 12,000 square feet of outdoor eco-educational space, a 2,707-square-foot historic home welcome center and more than two miles of Discovery Trails. Exhibits center on art, literacy, science, nature and real-world roles children can step into.
Who is behind the project?
The museum is a project of 8 Waves, a Winter Garden nonprofit founded by Sara Meyer that supports local students through education recovery, wrap-around care, life experiences and career pathways. An executive committee of about 20 local professionals and community leaders is helping guide the effort.
How is it being funded and when could it open?
The roughly $30 million project is seeking up to $25 million through Orange County’s Tourist Development Tax. A citizens task force recommended it for consideration, and county staff are conducting further financial analysis before the Board of County Commissioners decides on funding. No opening date has been set while the project moves through the process.
External Links & Related Reading
For readers who want to review the reporting and the organization behind I AM Children’s Museum, these are the key references.
- Horizon West Happenings — community coverage of I AM Children’s Museum and Austin Arthur’s remarks
- ClickOrlando (News 6): Winter Garden project seeks millions in tourism tax funding
- ClickOrlando (News 6): More than museums — Winter Garden projects could create new opportunities for kids
- West Orange Times & Observer: Eight Waves to open children’s museum in Winter Garden
- 8 Waves — nonprofit overview
Watching West Orange’s next chapter?
Projects like I AM Children’s Museum say a lot about where a community is heading. When a move is on your radar, local context matters.