Gov.'s bonding proposal includes money for Children's Museum

For the first time, Gov. Mark Dayton included the Minnesota Children's Museum in his bonding proposal.

Dayton on Monday proposed the state borrow $14 million for the museum. The amount would cover roughly half of what the museum says is a $28 million expansion.

"Our visitors tell us that crowding is actually kind of the biggest reason that they don't come more often and so we have the opportunity to expand in the space we're already at in downtown St. Paul," said Dianne Krizan, president of the Minnesota Children's Museum.

"The scope of the project is to expand the galleries by 50 percent," Krizan said. "At the same time it's a complete re-arrangement... re-imagination of the whole building. While the galleries expand by 50 percent, this isn't just an addition and a new gallery in that new space, this really is a 150 percent new museum."

According to the museum's 2012 annual report, more than 432,000 people attended the museum.

Efforts to expand the museum got underway in 2010.

House Democrats release their bonding proposal Tuesday.