The Bellevue nonprofit KidsQuest Children’s Museum has been awarded $733,000 in a donation from the King County Council through the Building for Culture program.

On Tuesday, Sept. 25, King County Council members Claudia Balducci and Reagan Dunn presented KidsQuest president and CEO Putter Burt with a check.

Shelley Saunders, director of advancement at KidsQuest, said the money will be put toward their capital campaign project used to help the Museum move out of its old location at Factoria Mall and into a standalone building on 108th Avenue Northeast.

In the new location, the children’s museum now has two floors of exhibit space, three classrooms, a dedicated art studio and more room for programming education classes for children and adults.

Saunders said the funds granted to the nonprofit had been reallocated after another Eastside arts institution didn’t meet the deadlines set by the council to receive the funds. In the reallocation process the council wanted to keep most of the funds going toward Eastside King County organizations, and KidsQuest was chosen.

Balducci and Dunn praised the museum for its unique educational offerings and the work it does to make learning accessible.

“I’m glad King County prioritized funding for organizations such as KidsQuest that provide accessible hands-on learning experiences for our children that will help set them up for success in the future,” Dunn said.

The Building for Culture program is a partnership between the King County Council and 4Culture to preserve, maintain and improve cultural facilities throughout the county.