As part of our 2009 Comprehensive Plan, a children’s museum was included to address the limited opportunities in our area for family fun coupled with educational opportunities. Many families will travel outside our county to seek these activities. To address this need in our local community, a volunteer group began meeting to explore the concept of a local children’s museum. These volunteers formed a children’s museum advisory group and then became a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are so proud of the dedication of this hard-working group of volunteers.
A Pilot Museum Project was launched in 2013. This was a test program and was only intended to be open for six months. With much better participation than had been forecasted, the pilot was open eleven months and made a small profit. As with many leading children’s museums, the wisdom of incorporating a high-quality preschool also became evident. The need for affordable or “free for qualifying families” early learning programs in Lewis County is significant. Less than 34% of area kids entering the school systems are “kindergarten ready” as assessed by kindergarten teachers. Discover! Children’s Museum intends to provide a distinguishing place for an early learning partner program inside the new facility. Today DCM is currently fundraising to build the permanent Discover! Children’s Museum.
The Discover! Children’s Museum (DCM) board of directors strongly believes that encouraging imaginative and fun activities leads to meaningful developmental growth.