EUREKA !

A DISCOVERY MADE JUST FOR YOU!

BY JOYCE B. WILCOX

If you were researching the Age of Discovery, you’d probably come across information that this period in history took place from the 1400s through the 1600s and involved explorations westward across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe. It would include curious travelers such as Prince Henry the Navigator, Christopher Columbus, Jacques Cartier, and John Cabot representing respectively the countries of Portugal, Spain, France, and England. Their voyages were treacherous and took several months to accomplish. What was their mission you may ask? They were searching for new routes for trade and expansion.

But what if you were researching the Age of Discovery as it directly relates to mid-Michigan? By that I mean as in the age of the Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum, aka MPDM. Ah, then you would discern that this hidden gem of a museum opened in 2012 and continues to evolve, expand, and enlighten just for you.

And you needn’t cross oceans to find it; just head east on Remus Road (M-20) out of Canadian Lakes until you cross Isabella Road in Mt. Pleasant. You truly can’t miss this humungous red barn structure with the tall red and white vertically striped silo located at 5093 E. Remus Road. And unlike the uncertain conditions for those European explorers of yesteryear, MPDM is not only well-marked, it’s located only forty minutes away from Canadian Lakes.

If the travelers of long ago had trade as their mission, what about the mission at MPDM you may ask? When I inquired about this of their Education Director, Laurie Yost, she replied, “Our mission is to enhance the community by inspiring creativity, learning, and curiosity.”

As far as I could tell, their mission was accomplished through the capable hands of their very engaging and well-trained staff who work at making learning fun. “When hiring we look for people who aspire to work with children, such as in teaching, educational administration, etcetera. Once hired, they are taken to each of the exhibits and are taught how each works and ways that they can interact with the kids,” Yost explained.

I noticed that while the children are guided, they are also encouraged to think outside of the box. The constant flow of staff intermingling with the children permits supervision, interaction, and independent thinking. “The Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum offers many hands-on play exhibits for children of all ages to explore and learn at their own pace,” Yost said.

I can attest to the “for children of all ages” part as I witnessed youngsters from a few months old to about age twelve enjoying themselves. Of course, I also noticed their parents, grandparents, and teenage siblings engaged at the exhibits as well. Needless to say, my husband and I frequently bring our five-year-old grandson to MPDM and we’ve personally explored the exhibits and found that kids at heart can make new discoveries too.

Apparently, the staff feels the same way we do. “I remember when I interviewed for the education coordinator position I thought, can I play? Will they really let me play? The Discovery Museum is that inviting,” said Yost.

These diverse exhibits are all exciting, engaging, and educational and you’re free to pick and choose which you’d like to explore. It’s up to you. So why not come along with me to explore some of these exhibits in the paragraphs which follow and see where this takes us?

Much like those early explorers, you can start your journey with a splash through the museum with a visit to Water Works, Inc. This is where you can launch a small plastic ball into the air and watch as it either hits a cymbal or lands in the water vortex before beginning its winding journey through a running water channel. Of course, this is a channel you’ve previously created with obstacles and passageways running willy-nilly through an extended network of waterways. This exhibit is sort of a children’s Reader’s Digest version of Niagara Falls meets white water rafting and concludes with navigating the Soo Locks.

Just like Neil Armstrong or Sally Ride, if you prefer to take to the air, you can visit 3, 2, 1...Blast Off! This is where you can either climb and explore the exciting space station maze, or learn to launch a rocket with all of the bells, lights, and whistles from a mission control panel. And since this is Mt. Pleasant and not Houston, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Adjacent to mission control is Exploratorium where children and adults can use their imagination to create a variety of art projects including paper rocket ships. Similar to NASA scientists, you can propel your rocket across the museum using a pressured rocket launcher. There’s also a Racing Airways exhibit nearby where kids can explore air pressure and flight as they race scarves placed in air powered clear tubes and watch as they change routes through the passageways.

The largest exhibit, the Beemazium, allows kids to explore the science behind bees while having fun. Kids learn exciting facts about these remarkable creatures while they climb, slide, and jump as they move pollen pillows around the giant hive and tend to the queen. The littlest ones can even dress up like bees! There is also a contained active bee hive nearby to observe nature first hand. As popular as this exhibit is, you best bee ready to make a beeline for the Beemazium.

Friendship Field is the outdoor exhibit. Here children investigate and engage in an outdoor kitchen, dinosaur dig pit, gardens, and an outdoor stage with an electrical hookup for performances. The indoor Farmer’s Market and Eat Right Smoothies teaches kids to sort, count, buy, and sell pretend produce. They can also discover healthy food options and use their creative culinary skills to create tasty dishes. Next door is the Honey Money Bank exhibit permitting children to use their imagination with the use of the ATM as they engage in math skills.

You’ll certainly want to visit The Greenhouse or the Fish Bowl exhibits. The first is an indoor exhibit where kids can pause to check on how the indoor plants are growing or perhaps read some books about them in the indoor tree house. The Fish Bowl exhibit is a few feet away with a live display of different types of fish in their own environment. Who knows? You may have the next George Washington Carver or Jacques Cousteau living in your home.

Conservationist and ethologist Jane Goodall said her mission was to create a world where we can live in harmony with nature. And you can do just that at MPDM. PleasANT Park explores camping in the outdoors while remaining inside. It’s complete with a pop-up camper, food for cookouts, stuffed fire pit pieces, and a bigger than life ant hill climber for children that comes complete with ant costumes. Nearby microscopes are connected to a TV monitor so that those backyard bugs can be viewed enlarged and up close. With all of these amenities, I just hope you realize, however, that Jane Goodall never had it so good.

The Luminary Lab focuses on the exploration of light with a giant size Lite Bright board and an assortment of illuminated geometric magnets with which to build and play. There’s also a very cool light up pipe organ where children can practice their musical talents. Believe me when I say that this exhibit adds new meaning to the saying you light up my life.

The One World exhibit features Mt. Pleasant’s Sister City, Okaya, Japan. Kids can learn to make rubbings of the signs from the Hiragana alphabet, create origami creatures, try on traditional Japanese clothing, and have the opportunity to create Haiku. Seriously, what could be more fun than rearranging words on a magnetic dry erase board? That’s poetry in motion!

Baby Carrots is a special exhibit just for the littlest visitors where they can walk or crawl safely in their own area and explore. There’s life on the farm with tractors, stuffed animals, and produce to play with while climbing, sliding, and rolling. A bridge gets them safely from one area to another and there’s even a boat to sit in and fish. With everything at their level, it adds new meaning to life down on the farm.

There are also stations located throughout the museum for children to sit and draw, build an extensive wooden train track, race matchbox cars, experiment with magnets, play with puppets, and pretend to drive cars and trucks.

More than 50,000 visitors come to the museum annually with visits ranging from one to two hours. There are also several weekly hour-long programs in special meeting rooms taking place on different days throughout the year. Examples of these programs include Kids at Art, Lego League, Tunes & Tales, and Eco Kids Club. Of course there are also week-long summer camps taking place Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 1:00 p.m. This summer the themes were entitled Dino Days Camp, Theater Thinkers Camp, Mystery Madness Camp, and Time Traveling Tots Camp. “I gear the programs to fit the kids. Children learn that there’s more than one way to do things,” Yost explained.

For the record, I researched the cost of Christopher Columbus’s voyage of 1492 and discovered that at today’s prices, that same trip would cost him $1,000,000. A general admission to Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum is quite the bargain at $8.00. In addition there are several membership packages which bring the cost even lower with multiple visits. There are also some packages which permit reciprocal admission to various other museums in Michigan, and half price admission to 200 museums across the United States. You can call MPDM at (989) 317-3221 if you have any questions. They are open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. So I guess it’s goodbye Columbus and hello Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum.

From the giant over-sized chair at the entrance overlooking the main exhibit hall to the 3, 2, 1...Blast Off! exhibit at the other end, there is something for everyone to see and do. It’s all engaging, interactive, multisensory, educational, and fun. Like I said, Eureka! A discovery made just for you!