JANESVILLE The name of the Rock County Childrens Museum is no longer Rock County Childrens Museum.
Its WonderVault.
That abrupt turnabout in naming the soon-to-be completed Rock County Childrens Museum comes as the West Milwaukee Street nonprofit museum announces a major donation from the Bysted family.
The family has already donated more than $2 million to the childrens museum over the last year. Now, the museum has changed its name, calling it the Bysted Family WonderVault.
The Bysted family selected the name, the museum announced. The family has been heavily involved in volunteer nonprofits in the past, but this is the first time its seen major naming rights for any organization its been involved in.
The museum announced the change late last week with a Facebook post that shows a new logo, saying the change comes with the same commitment to bringing wonder, imagination and and the power of play to Rock County.
The museum is slated to open late this fall, with multiple exhibits and learning-based play centers included.
The museum hinted that in order to fuel ongoing operational funding, it might in the future host non-childrens activities and events, such as weddings, in an attempt to generate additional revenue streams through facility rentals.
The former Rock County Childrens Museum earlier talked about the Bysted familys commitment to the museum via major donations the family made in spring of 2025.
The museum had issued no prior indications it was considering a naming-rights agreement that would significantly change the museums nomenclature prior to it opening.
The only inkling on naming rights for the museum was an off-the-cuff comment in 2024 by the childrens museums board president, John Westphal, who said if anyone wants to write him a check for $2 million, they can have naming rights.
The museum did tease the announcement on social media in recent days with social media posts that it had a big surprise coming.
On Monday afternoon, the childrens museums director, Kent Anderson, said the museums leadership is discussing the name change in light of community feedback its heard since the announcement last week.
Anderson otherwise declined further comment, suggesting the nonprofit will take some time this week to further digest community sentiment on the name change. He suggested the childrens museum might be in a better position to speak publicly on the matter later this week.
So far, some commenters on the museums social media page, which has been renamed The Bysted Family WonderVault, expressed surprise and confusion.
One commenter said: I really appreciate the creative thinking behind this, but I have to agree that the name throws the purpose/identity off a bit. At the very least, the word childrens should be reinstated so it is clear who this is for.
Another commenter called the name change pretentious and somewhat classist, saying they wouldnt immediately assume its a childrens museum based on the new name.
Id just assume its some building owned by this family and its none of my business, the commenter said.
Others sought a more detailed explanation, saying they think the museum should retain some reference in its name to children and museums, given its intended use.
The 69蹤獲 has reached out to The Bysted Family WonderVault for further details on the name change, including when the museum decided to make the pivot, why, and how the museum decided on the change.