3-story kid sculpture draws new fans to Columbia museum

COLUMBIA — Franky Hartman remembers being 12 and gazing at Big Ed for the first time, a kid sculpture that sat three stories high inside the city’s newly opened children’s museum.

She was astounded by his size and the world that lay inside him: a playset where children could climb, bounce and slide, and sections that showed the fiberglass figure’s internal organs.   

Hartman thought the anatomy display was “cool.” She came with younger family members and noticed that everyone found something in Big Ed to occupy them.

Now, two decades later, Hartman regularly visits the EdVenture museum with her 4-year-old daughter, Esther. Hartman introduced her child to the museum at age 1, wanting Esther to experience the interactive educational exhibits and, of course, the towering figure of a backpack-toting boy with an insect on his finger.

“One of her favorite things to do is climb through Big Ed, too, and she’s started asking about the different body parts,” Hartman said. 

The 40-foot-tall sculpture, better known today as Eddie, went through some renovations over two years ago. But the EdVenture management doesn’t want to make any big changes to the museum’s biggest attraction since the place opened in 2003.

Over the past few years, people who first came to EdVenture as kids have started returning as parents, and seeing Eddie brings them reminiscent feelings, said Marc Drews, the museum’s director of experiences and education.

“Eddie is the icon,” said Andy Marquart, EdVenture’s CEO, “and our goal is to make sure we preserve him.”  

The children’s museum, which has an area equivalent to 1-1/2 football fields and an annual budget of $3 million, draws 200,000 visitors a year. Its busiest periods, during summer weekends, bring in around 1,000 children and adults a day, according to EdVenture data.