By Jim Bloch
The Discovery City Children’s Museum has opened its doors for business in Port Huron.
Dawn Schweihofer, the museum’s director, introduced herself to the city council at its regular meeting Oct. 14 and discussed the new museum.
The museum held its grand opening, complete with a ribbon-cutting by Mayor Pauline Repp, Oct. 15.
The 8,000 square foot museum is located in the old Knowlton Ice Museum of North America, 317 Grand River, one block east of Huron Ave. on the corner of Michigan.
It bills itself as “the premiere children’s museum in Michigan’s Thumb, recommended for ages 10 and under. At Discovery City, children can learn through play with our interactive and nature-inspired exhibits.”
“We have sponsors for a lot of our exhibits already,” said Schweihofer, as heard on the recording of the council meeting posted on YouTube. “Our very own dear and precious friend Donna Niester has been such a wonderful supporter and benefactor.”
Niester, 67, died Oct. 6. She was the CEO of Acheson Ventures and a trustee of the James C. Acheson Foundation, a key supporter of the museum. The council members stood at the start of the meeting and held a moment of silence in remembrance of Niester.
“A big area is dedicated to her,” said Schweihofer.
SEMCO and Eastern Michigan Bank are also critical supporters.
“We’re going to be manufacturing from scratch a bank made to the (bank’s) specifications,” said Schweihofer. “It’ll be a mini-Eastern Michigan Bank complete with a vault and ATM machine.”
St. Clair Landscaping installed a pond filled with live coy.
Each of the museum’s exhibits, including a camp ground, embody one or more of state’s early learning standards and emphasize a variety of approaches to play and learning, physical development and health, social and emotional development, creative and expressive arts, STEM, social studies and communication, language and early literature development.
“It’s fabulous,” said Mayor Repp.
The museum is open Tuesdays noon-6 p.m.; Wednesdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursdays noon-6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays noon-4 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays.
Admission is $7 and free to children under one year old. A variety of discounts are available to those with EBT/WIC cards, Michigan Activity Passes, museum members, military and school personnel, first responders and senior citizens.
The Knowlton family donated the ice museum to the Community Foundation of St. Clair County in 2020. The city is leasing the museum from the foundation for $16,000 per year for three years, plus $1 per admission ticket.
The new facility is managed by the Port Huron Recreation Department.
Earlier in the year, rec director Nancy Winzer pegged the cost of the museum at$750,000, which included $120,000 to retrofit the building; $60,000 in museum start-up costs; $500,000 in exhibit costs; soft costs of $50,000; and a contingency fund of $20,000.
The city committed $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the project.
For details, call the museum at 810-984-1795.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
