Children's museums see a nationwide surge in popularity   TACOMA, WA - There has been an explosion in interest in the development and support of children's museums in communities nationwide, according to Janet Rice Elman, executive director of the Association of Youth Museums. Developments at children's museums in Tacoma; Boulder, Colo.; Portland, Maine; and Mesa, Ariz. prove her point. The Children's Museum of Tacoma celebrates the opening this month of a new downtown location and a new exhibit on daily life in a Nigerian village. Newly located in the city's theater district, the museum expects to double attendance in the coming year. Young parents who were museum visitors when they were children are now returning with their own families to enjoy the Arizona Museum for Youth in Mesa, an art museum for children. After relocating in 1993 to anchor a downtown renovation project, the children's Museum in Portland, Maine is experiencing its own surge in attendance while also attracting growth for other arts organizations in the emerging arts district. The director of the children's museum in Boulder, Colo., sees great potential for growth in attendance and plans, with a national grant, a new marketing program. "In the U.S. we currently have 100 new children's museums that expect to open in the next three years that are now in various stages of planning," Elman said. "All across the country children's museums, with their interactive approach to exhibits, are meeting a real need for growing families." "Parents of video game children are looking for stimulating, hands-on experiences for their children -- experiences that will grab a child's attention and teach valuable lessons in a fun way," she said. The competition for meeting this need can be fierce in some communities. "With for-profit pay-for-play spaces such as Discovery Zone, Imagine That and Jeepers Creepers popping up in many communities, non-profit youth museums must compete for every visitor," Elman said. "We succeed by providing participatory exhibits that encourage children in learning by engaging them directly in processes, analysis, synthesis evaluation and of course creativity," she said.