Something big is coming to south suburban Matteson, and it is going to be built just for kids.

Plans were announced Wednesday to create a 50,000-square-foot Matteson Children's Museum. It is to be constructed on a part of the site where the Lincoln Mall — which operated at Cicero Avenue and Lincoln Highway from 1973 until 2015, when it closed and went on to be torn down.

The Matteson Children's Museum is set to open in 2028.

The museum will feature interactive displays focusing on arts and culture, environmental science, engineering, chemistry, and human anatomy, a news release noted. The museum will also feature a strong focus on music education — with a recording studio, a music learning ab, and a performance space, the release said.

There will also be party rental rooms for children's birthdays.

Outside, the museum will be supplemented by a two-acre park with a children's garden where kids can plant, tend to, and harvest fruits and vegetables. The outdoor are will also include sand tables, playgrounds, fountains, walking paths, picnic areas, and a bike path that will link the museum to the 22-mile Old Plank Trail, the release said.

Programming at the children's museum will include year-round events, workshops and activities — such as holiday and summer camps, college recruitment fairs, craft workshops, coding sessions, cooking classes, book fairs, writing labs, fashion shows, and scavenger hunts, the release said. The museum will also work with local schools to align its programming with their curriculum.

The museum will also dedicate resources specifically to children on the autism spectrum.

"It's time to shift from Matteson's retail-focused past to an experience-driven future," Michelle Kennedy, a Matteson resident and the founder of the Matteson Children's Museum, said in a news release.

The release noted that Kennedy moved to Matteson in 2006, and has seen local businesses decline since Lincoln Mall closed.

But she expressed hope.

"The Village of Matteson is on an upswing, with new businesses emerging and public parks in the pipeline." Alongside the museum, the revitalization of the former Lincoln Mall site will introduce a complementary blend of residential, commercial, and recreational spaces," Kennedy said in the release.

When it opens, the Matteson Children's Museum will join a roster of celebrated children's museums in the Chicago area — including the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier, the Bronzeville Children's Museum in Chicago's Calumet Heights neighborhood, the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview, the Wonder Works Children's Museum in Oak Park, and the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville. Closer to Matteson is the KidsWork Children's Museum in south suburban New Lenox.