Water System Exhibit at Boonshoft Museum

At a glance

What: A City partnership with the Dayton Society of Natural History (Boonshoft Museum of Discovery) to fund an interactive exhibit telling the story of Dayton's water system.
Where it stands: Presented 2026-09-23; commissioners voiced support for the partnership (calendar item A3).
Next: Exhibit design with the water department, with the museum closing about August 13, 2027 for demolition and aiming to reopen fully by January 2028.

The museum asked for $350,000, about four cents per visitor over a ten-year life; the whole project is about $10.5 million, with $8.5 million raised and a $250,000 federal museum-services grant.
The exhibit would replace a water table and climb structure installed in the early 1990s, and an electric utility exhibit is also planned.
The water department director also described source-water protection and cybersecurity safeguards for a department of about 400 employees.

Dayton City Commission 2026-09-23 agenda, draft minutes and YouTube auto-generated captions.

Water department and museum leaders presented; commissioners praised the project as educational and a workforce pipeline for the water department.