What began as a dream with lofty ideas over a decade ago is now taking physical shape in Baxter. After years of planning, fundraising, site selection and design, WonderTrek Children’s Museum has reached the stage where the vision is physically coming to life.
The WonderTrek construction journey began in 2021, with a piece of Potlatch property along Highway 371 in Baxter selected as the future site. This moved the project from an idea toward a permanent home, and a potential reality.
The critical push toward construction came in 2023, when five Cornerstone Founders each contributed $50,000 and Sourcewell committed a $5 million challenge contribution to launch Phase 1, WonderTrek’s Outdoor Adventure. In 2024, nine acres were secured for the campus and final design work began. By 2025, Sourcewell had purchased the larger 33-acre property and entered into a long-term lease with WonderTrek for the nine-acre campus. The project also received a competitive $500,000 grant and officially broke ground.
Now, the transformation is coming to life before our eyes.
After receiving its building permit and completing a public-private development agreement with the City of Baxter and Sourcewell, WonderTrek began site preparation in winter 2026. This past spring, construction crews excavated the main pond, shaped the land, brought in gravel and established the terrain that will eventually become the Outdoor Adventure campus. Foundation work is also underway, marking a significant transition from preparing the site to actually building the structures and experiences families will use.
The construction itself is designed around the character of the site. Rather than clearing the property and building over it, the project team is intentionally working with the existing landscape. Trees were identified for preservation during site preparation, while tree tops and logs are being reused as elements of the play experience and excavated soil is being repurposed for building pads. As Widseth Lead Engineer Thomas Rients explained, the goal is to design the campus “into and around nature rather than taking down nature.”
WonderTrek’s Adventure Outfitters Studio!
Copper Creek working on clearing trails at WonderTrek.
WonderTrek Children’s Museum is getting ready for visitors this Fall!
When complete, the Outdoor Adventure campus will move families through a variety of natural environments, including forested areas, open grasslands and water features. The 2,500-square-foot Adventure Outfitters Studio will serve as an entry point to the experience, with trails leading to destinations such as the mud kitchen, Roots and Rigging, a test hill for the “Slide! Design Your Own Ride” experience, and water-based play. The result is intended to feel less like a traditional playground and more like an immersive landscape built for exploration.
There is also a distinctly local story behind the construction journey. Nick Wacholz (title here) described WonderTrek as standing apart from other children’s museum initiatives because of its commitment to working exclusively with local businesses and companies. That philosophy is evident on the job site, where nearly 100% of contractors are from the region. The project is not simply being built in the Brainerd Lakes Area, it is being built by the community it is intended to serve.
And soon, families will get to experience the result for themselves.
WonderTrek’s Outdoor Adventure is set to open in November 2026, bringing a new destination for nature, imagination, discovery and hands-on play to the Brainerd Lakes Area. For the WonderTrek team, the approaching opening represents more than the completion of a single phase of construction, it is the beginning of the moments they have been working toward for years.
For Jackie, Lead Playworker, the most exciting moment will be seeing families experience the campus for the first time. “I am most excited to watch families, full of curiosity and wonder, cross the threshold of our Fenced-In-Freedom domain for their first time!”
That sense of discovery is central to what WonderTrek hopes families will take away from their visits. “I’m excited for families to explore together in ways that invite adults to see the world through their children’s eyes so we can recognize how much children have to teach us,” said Emilee, Evaluation Specialist.
Museum Project Director Peter is looking forward to seeing those moments unfold throughout the Outdoor Adventure campus.
“I am so excited to welcome families to explore, splash, and play across WonderTrek’s Outdoor Adventure!” he said. “It’s such a joy to help families step away from daily stress to run wild in nature, or play quietly on the banks of our pond, or create something new in our Workshop.”
For Vanessa, a Playworker, the excitement is simpler: “I’m most excited to see the joy on each child’s face as they visit the museum and get the opportunity to play.”
Aimee, Visitor Experience Director, hopes the experience extends beyond the museum itself. “I’m most excited to share the WonderTrek approach with families across our region. I hope parents leave feeling inspired by simple ideas they can bring home and encouraged to give their children more freedom to explore, make decisions, solve problems, and follow their wonder every day.”
After more than a decade of dreaming, planning, fundraising and building, WonderTrek is now just months away from welcoming its first families to Outdoor Adventure. What started as a far-flung idea in 2015 is becoming a place where children can explore, create, take healthy risks, solve problems and follow their curiosity. Perhaps more importantly, it can be the place where families across the Brainerd Lakes Area can make memories together for generations to come.
Leave a Legacy That Inspires Generations
Every gift to WonderTrek helps create opportunities for children to explore, imagine, and discover the world through play. Whether you’re interested in sponsoring an exhibit, creating a named space, supporting outdoor experiences, or making a legacy gift, there are many meaningful ways to become part of this story.
Explore current giving opportunities and help build a place where wonder will grow for generations to come.