History

Once upon a time…. two teachers had a vision.  Their dream was to establish a children’s museum in Jacksonville. They possessed a keen responsibility to educate all children in Onslow County through community efforts and inspire creativity. Determined to not allow the four walls of a classroom to restrict them, they often traveled hours away on museum field trips. This was costly and eroded valuable time from the exploration of their student’s curiosity and desire to learn.  Their intuition and experience precipitated one simple observation-The high population of families and youth in Onslow County and Eastern Carolina deserved attention.

In 2005, these two leaders enlisted the help of ten more civic minded others and inspired them with the same vision.  At this point, the journey really began to take shape.  In 2008, their efforts led to a successful non-profit status catapulting our founding educators’ inspiration for the future of a local children’s museum.  Finally, a much needed cog for our community growth and youth development had arrived.

Purchased in 2017, the once Boomtown Furniture building seemed naturally designed to accommodate the hopes and dreams of the founders. Since officially opening November 30th 2018, Zing Zumm has been the humble host of many events ranging from fundraisers and community development soirees to birthday parties and holiday retreats and everything in between.

This museum is the patchwork of many efforts since its inception.  The following is a timeline of major events that led to the birth of the museum as we all know it today.