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Discovery Center Open, with Fun (and Learning) for Kids

Discovery Center Open, with Fun (and Learning) for Kids

POTTSTOWN PA – Adults enjoyed themselves Friday (June 20, 2025) at the Pottstown Children’s Discovery Center, 95 S. Hanover St., as they cut a ribbon and officially opened the refurbished and air-conditioned museum, play, educational, and exploration facility.

Now it’s the kids’ turn to have some fun. The Discovery Center will be open four days a week, seven hours daily, so Pottstown area families can benefit from the enjoyment it offers.

Discovery Center Open, with Fun (and Learning) for Kids
Crafting art on a Lego board is one of many activities that can keep kids continually occupied

Construction to complete the center caused it to relocate for a period, as the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system was installed by Montgomery County Community College, the building’s owner. Additionally, the center’s Exploration Studio received an upgrade, a new water-bottle filler was installed, and other rooms received finishing touches.

Designed With Kids In Mind

The center currently consists of several continuing exhibits and features:

  • Its Discovery Theater encourages the talents of budding actors, writers, and producers;
  • “Barn to Belly,” explains the origins of food, and lets kids play at being farmers, chefs, gardeners, and supermarket retailers;
  • Its STEM Room is a place where kids can explore manufacturing, engineering, and technology;
  • It provides a community space for meetings and open play;
  • The center is cultivating a growing schedule of special events; and
  • It’s available for use to hold private parties and field trips.
Discovery Center Open, with Fun (and Learning) for Kids
The Discovery Center’s next project is an expansion on the second floor of its South Hanover Street home

Friday’s festivities served to reintroduce the center to its local audiences, and thank its many donors, supporters, and volunteers. The gathering also learned about the Discovery Center’s next big thing: a proposed expansion on the building’s second floor.

An Abundance of Assistance

“A celebration of community dedication” is how center founder and Executive Director Beth Desch described the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Discovery Center Open, with Fun (and Learning) for Kids
Discovery Center Executive Director Beth Desch

She publicly thanked local Pennsylvania Reps. Joe Ciresi and Paul Friel, and Sen. Tracy Pennycuick for their assistance with state-related matters. Community college President Dr. Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez received praise for its partnership with the center, and for the college’s extensive work at the South Hanover building. Also thanked for his direction and help was David Kraybill, president of the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation.

Desch recognized and appreciated the “work behind the scenes” of the center’s board of directors. She also noted that volunteers were instrumental in their regular duties, and with suggestions and ideas. And she thanked center Creative Director Karen Hudson for seeing the center move from a dream to completion over several years.

With the second floor expansion already in planning stages, the center still needs the public’s “help to grow,” its Facebook page acknowledges. As it prepares “for all the future has to offer,” public support “goes a long way,” it says. Future donations can “bring more hands-on activities to local children and help us expand the programs,” it explains.

Ready and Waiting

The Discovery Center is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular admission costs $10.

All photos by Travels With The Post