From a mom's group to 50,000 visitors a year
The Discovery Museum began with three local moms: Jennifer Fields, Heather Proud, and Shelly Smith. They met in a mom's group and shared a conviction: central Michigan kids deserved a hands-on, play-based museum of their own, without the long drive to one of the big cities.
Their vision caught fire. The Morey Foundation stepped forward with $1 million to launch the effort plus a $500,000 matching challenge, and the wider community answered. The result: a 12,000-square-foot, eco-friendly, fully accessible museum, the first of its kind in the central Michigan region.
Today the museum welcomes over 50,000 guests a year from all over Michigan, hosts field trips and summer camps, and remains what it was always meant to be: a place for gathering, for growing, and for celebrating the important work of play.
Three moms and a big idea: the museum effort is organized, and the community begins rallying behind it.
The doors open! The 12,000-square-foot museum welcomes its first explorers.
Over 50,000 guests a year, monthly LOCAL reciprocal partnerships across Michigan, summer camps, Discovery Days, and Cow Pie Bingo.
The Front Yard Farm opens, our newest place to play, right out front.
