Exhibits for every kind of weather
Indoor and outdoor exhibits, with the outdoor areas covered so they work in Florida rain and sun.
Source: Bay News 9, ClickOrlando
Winter Garden, Florida · Living near the parks
A children’s museum is coming to Winter Garden.
Rainy Saturday. Kids bouncing off the walls. Soon there’s a new answer, right off the West Orange Trail.
Orange County approved $25 million for the I AM Children’s Museum, WFTV reported on Oct. 20. Here’s what we know so far, with credit to the local reporters who covered each detail.
- Built by 8 Waves, a local nonprofit (Bay News 9)
- About 35,000 square feet for kids ages 2 to 12 (Bay News 9)
- Paid for with tourist tax money. Homeowners don’t pay it. (WFTV)
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$25MCounty tourist tax funding, approved Oct. 19, 2026. Source: WFTV
35,000 sq ftBuilt for kids ages 2 to 12. Source: Bay News 9
2 milesOf interactive trails by the West Orange Trail. Source: Bay News 9
2027Target groundbreaking. No opening date yet. Source: Bay News 9
Who pays for it
Visitors cover the bill. Homeowners don’t.
On Oct. 19, 2026, Orange County commissioners voted 6-1 to approve a tourist tax spending plan worth nearly $800 million, according to WFTV. The children’s museum got $25 million of it.
That money comes from the tourist development tax, a 6% tax on hotel and vacation rental stays, as WKMG News 6 explained when the plan was proposed. If you own a home here, you don’t pay it. The people visiting the parks do.
The parks bring in the visitors. This time, the visitors help build something for the families who live here.
Also in the same plan
As reported by WFTV and ClickOrlando / WKMG
🎭 $350 million for the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Orlando
🏛️ $80 million for Eatonville
🏟️ $52.5 million for a Camping World Stadium garage
🏃 $46 million for UCF track and soccer
What’s planned
Inside and out
On the trail
Getting there
Built for curiosity, creativity and play
Here’s what 8 Waves has shared with Bay News 9 and ClickOrlando / WKMG so far. Details can change as the design moves forward.
A link to the West Orange Trail
About 2 miles of interactive trails on a site next to the West Orange Trail, plus restoration of a historic home.
Source: Bay News 9, ClickOrlando
Less traffic on Plant Street
Plans call for hotel shuttles, a parking garage and golf cart access to cut down on car trips.
Source: ClickOrlando
The museum sits on city land through a 90-year partnership with the City of Winter Garden. The team projects about 250,000 visitors a year, about 150,000 of them local families, per Bay News 9.
If you live here, or plan to
One more reason to stay local on the weekend.
Families move to Winter Garden for the schools, the parks, Plant Street and things to do close to home. A children’s museum adds to that list.
This is the kind of thing that never shows up on a home search website. What’s being built down the street shapes how a neighborhood feels five years from now. That’s the part I help families sort out, street by street.
What happens next
🏗️ Design, exhibits and an opening date are still to come.
🗓️ The team hopes to break ground in 2027, per Bay News 9.
📬 I’ll update this page as new details are confirmed. The Weekly Note gets them first.
Sources
Check it yourself
This page is a summary of local reporting. Thank you to the reporters at WFTV, WKMG News 6, Bay News 9 and the Orange Observer for covering this story. Read their full articles below.
WFTV, Oct. 20, 2026: Commissioners approve tourist tax plan, including $25 million for a Winter Garden children’s museum
ClickOrlando / WKMG, Oct. 18, 2026: Orange County mayor proposes $800 million tourist tax plan
Bay News 9, Sept. 11, 2026: Proposed Winter Garden children’s museum awaits decision on TDT funds
ClickOrlando / WKMG, Aug. 15, 2026: Winter Garden project seeks millions in tourism tax funding
Orange Observer, May 19, 2026: Eight Waves asks community to fill out survey for I AM Children’s Museum
Jorge E. Martinez Jr., P.A. · REALTOR® · Keller Williams Classic Realty · 407.502.4719. Semper Fi to your real estate needs 🇺🇸