First 5 Fox Valley unveiled plans for their new resource center in the old home of the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton. June 11, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The building which used to house the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton will soon be home to the Fox Valley’s newest family resource center.
First 5 Fox Valley will be taking over the space and renovating it for next year.
“The ability to find answers to questions that oftentimes parents just have no idea where to go to,” said Executive Director Barb Tengesdal. “We’re a place that lets them plug into the resources in a centralized access point.”
The first level will be transformed into a play area for children, while the upper floors will provide resources for area families.
“There’s parent education courses that will be happening up here,” Tengesdal explained. “We’ll be having vision screenings and hearing screenings, and the car seat safety group will be coming in. All kinds of things. It will be a centralized place for those resources for families.”
Plexus, which is globally headquartered in Neenah, is helping fund the project. That includes the new STEM-focused programs for children.
Vice President of Brand Strategy Deployment Kristine Groholski shared more.
“We envision a space where kids can transform art into digital designs and project them on the wall, so think about it from a place of creativity, where their creativity can be brought to life with digital ecosystems.” Groholski said.
I think it’s a place where younger kids can get a feel for innovation and technology firsthand right here, through the art that they create here.
Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford said the new facility will be instrumental in the growth of resources for families not just in Appleton, but throughout the entire Fox Valley.
“We want every child in our community to lead a life of meaning to them — whatever that looks like — and to be able to have the tools to live that life of meaning,” Woodford said.
Work on the $8 million project is set to start later this summer, with a tentative opening date of June 2026.
The goal is to keep some of the building’s iconic features — like the pillars, guardrails and stairs — but make some necessary upgrades.
“Fixing the things that needed fixing. Furnace, HVAC, roof, solar panels on the roof, lighting, mechanical, plumbing. All the stuff that this building needed help with,” said Tengesdal.
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