Aslett Foundation Plans to Expand Museum of Clean Building
Hadley Bodell
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – The Aslett Clean World Foundation in Pocatello formed to carry on the legacy of Don Aslett, founder of the beloved Museum of Clean. Following his passing, the foundation has plans to expand the museum building into a community center filled with all kinds of experiences for guests.
The foundation held an open house this afternoon at the Museum of Clean library for community leaders and guests to hear about the plans of the foundation. Their mission is to continue inspiring guests through the vibracy and uniqueness of the Museum of Clean while carrying forward the opportunities the building provides.
Samantha Stoddard, Executive Director for the Clean World Foundation, stated “What we’re trying to do as an organization with the foundation is to carry on that legacy that Don created, for future generations to come. We’re really trying to create spaces for families and children in our community, and be a place that is a mecca of good things.”
Currently, only three of the five floors of the Museum of Clean building are in use. The foundation hopes to partner with local businesses to fill the unused floors with fresh ideas and new experiences for guests. Idaho Coffee Company, through local business Glean Coffee, has already set up a mini market within the museum.
Leaders of the foundation spoke about large companies like Micron and the possibilities their technology may bring to the experiences of the building. Because of this expansion project, the building will be renamed within the next couple of months. Rather than simply the Museum of Clean and the Children’s Discovery Museum, the building will serve as a melting pot within the community for adults and youth alike.
The property contains a large event center, which the foundation plans to renovate and turn into a fully functional event space with a sound system, so that local businesses can rent the space. They compared the vision for the campus to that of JUMP in downtown Boise-a hotspot for every kind of event and a local place for children to go for educational, artistic and cultural enrichment.
“The purpose is so that we can invite other organizations and opportunities into the building and it can really have a lot of other aspects, not just one thing,” said Stoddard. “We are asking for the community’s help in the renaming of the space so that it can really be a little more conducive to the overall objective of the building.”
The foundation hosts the beloved “Touch-a-Truck” event for children in the community, which will be hosted this year on June 9th. They will also host their second annual Potato Festival on August 22nd.
If you’re interested in helping to rename the Museum of Clean building, you can visit museumofclean.com and navigate to the renaming survey.