Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Bounds.
Hi Rachel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My Story
I spent more than twenty years in public education, first as a teacher, then a counselor, then a principal, and eventually working in central office administration. I loved that work and I’m proud of it, but somewhere along the way I started noticing something: I was most energized on the days I got to focus on how kids learn best, rather than the systems and mandates around that learning.
In January 2026, I made the leap to become Executive Director of the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum. It’s a career pivot on paper, but in practice it feels less like a detour and more like arriving somewhere I’d been heading all along. The mission here, hands-on, joyful, exploratory learning, is something I believed in as an educator and now get to build a whole institution around.
What’s struck me most since making the switch is this: it’s the same kids, but a completely different reaction. In schools, I got used to hearing children cry at the door because they didn’t want to go in. Now, working at the museum, I still hear crying at our doors, but it’s because they don’t want to leave. That contrast tells me everything about why this place matters, and why I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
NETX Children’s Museum’s Story
In 1994, a local pastor and Commerce Rotary Club president named David Gibson visited the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum in Seminole, Oklahoma. He came home asking a simple question: why couldn’t Commerce offer something like this? He spent the next eight years turning that question into reality, holding monthly meetings with community members and a growing board, and hosting “Mini Museum Days” to build enthusiasm and donor support. In 2000, Region 8 contributed a substantial gift to pay for all elementary students in Region 8 to take field trips to the museum, which really helped move things forward. In February 2002, the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum finally opened its doors in a converted grocery store, furnished with donated exhibits and play items.
From there, we grew. The museum later moved into a repurposed cafeteria space belonging to East Texas A&M before landing in our current home: a 26,500-square-foot building on seven acres along Highway 11. It’s a legacy built on community persistence long before I ever walked through the doors, and I feel privileged to be continuing it now.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road, no. The most persistent struggle was financial: the nonprofit carried significant debt in its early years, and for a long stretch we operated firmly in the red. Everything changed somewhat when Region 8 stepped in with a gift that covered field trip costs for an entire school year, but that relief came only after years of scraping by.
Right alongside the money problems was the challenge of finding a permanent home. We moved at least four times in our history, largely due to rent and building issues at various locations, before finally landing in the space we occupy today. There’s something to be said for the stability that comes with finally being able to call a place home rather than operating on borrowed time in a borrowed building.
The third obstacle was less tangible but just as real: convincing our community that a children’s museum was worth investing in. Frankly, a lot of people didn’t know what a children’s museum even was, and honestly, many still don’t. That’s precisely why our founders started hosting “Mini Museum Days” in the earliest years, small-scale previews that gave local families a taste of what hands-on, interactive learning could look like for their kids. Once people experienced it firsthand, the appetite grew quickly. Word of mouth took over from there, and that’s really how our community came to understand what a valuable asset a children’s museum could be, not just for Commerce, but for Hunt County and East Texas as a whole.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum, everything we do comes back to one mission: inspiring imagination, enhancing creativity, and building confidence in the children who walk through our doors. We’re not a look-but-don’t-touch kind of museum. Every exhibit is designed to be handled, climbed on, taken apart, and explored, because that’s how young children actually learn.
A few of our signature experiences are ones families won’t find anywhere else nearby. Amazing Airways uses pneumatic air tubes to send lightweight balls swirling through a winding transparent maze, giving kids a firsthand, delighted introduction to airflow, pressure, and gravity. Multiball turns physics into full-body play, and our Kidsteam hand car gives children a hands-on feel for mechanics and motion. These aren’t passive attractions; they’re built to spark real curiosity and real learning, even if the child doesn’t realize that’s what’s happening.
We’re also proud to be recognized as a Blue Star Museum, a national distinction that allows us to offer free admission to active-duty military families each summer, our way of honoring the families who serve.
We’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which shapes everything about how we operate. We’re always looking for new sponsors and donors who want to invest in early childhood play and development. Beyond the impact of that investment, donors receive recognition and signage inside the museum, which is seen by close to 50,000 visitors annually, so it’s a meaningful way for local businesses and individuals to put their name behind something the whole region sees and values.
What I most want readers to understand is threefold. First, this is a genuine educational asset, not just a place to burn off energy on a rainy afternoon; the play here is purposeful and developmentally rich. Second, as a nonprofit, we’re deeply committed to keeping the museum affordable and accessible to every family in our region, regardless of income. And third, we’re worth the drive. Families come from all over DFW, because there simply isn’t another experience like this nearby.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My advice to anyone starting out, whether at a nonprofit, a museum, or any mission-driven organization, is to expect the timeline to be longer than you want it to be, and to make peace with that early. Our museum took eight years of meetings, community events, and relationship-building before it ever opened its doors, and that patience was not wasted time; it was the foundation.
If I could tell someone one thing, it would be this: build your community support and local buy-in before you need it. Getting local government, civic clubs, and other community partners genuinely invested early on is crucial, not just for the initial launch, but for long-term sustainability. I honestly don’t know where we would be without our local patrons and volunteers. When people show up for you in those early, uncertain years, they carry that investment forward. They become advocates who talk about the museum in their own circles, who show up when you need help, and who feel a real sense of pride and connection to what’s been built, almost like it belongs to them as much as it does to us. That kind of grassroots support isn’t something you can manufacture later. It has to be cultivated from the start, and it’s ultimately what carries an organization through the hard years.
I’d also say don’t be afraid to bring outside perspective into work you love. I spent twenty years in public education before making this pivot, and I’ve found that the skills translate more than you’d expect: understanding how children learn, building relationships with a community, managing people and budgets under real constraints. If you’re starting something new, trust that your prior experience is an asset, not a detour, even when the path looks nothing like where you started.
Pricing:
- $8 ages 24 months+
- Annual membership tiers available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.netxcm.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/netxcm
- Facebook: facebook/netxcm
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@netxcm
