Moms and Money: Discovery Center of Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Summer is the time for kids to let loose and have a little fun. This summer, Discovery Center of Springfield is staying busy with a variety of new programs.

“Our education department is the fastest growing education department, in any science center in the world right now” said Rob Blevins, Executive Director of Discovery Center of Springfield.

According to Blevins, like so many places, they had to think outside of the box during the pandemic to continue educating in a new normal.

“We actually have programming in three different countries, in over 30 states in the United States, all the way from California to New York. We won awards for that. We also have distance learning programs. We serve 34 counties in Missouri” said Blevins.

They also launched a STEM-based preschool and private school too.

“30% of our kids in that program are at or below the poverty line. So that’s really neat that we get to work with those kid and it’s an individualized learning system. It’s a one to 10 ratio so we can really focus on learning standards” said Blevins.

They also rolled out a first of it’s kind pharmacology program for kids.

“This is how drugs, even prescription drugs will interact with your body. We want to provide the baseline education so that kids can grow up to make good decisions” said Blevins.

According to Blevins, it’s also about serving all parts of the Springfield community.

“You know, over 25% of Springfield lives in poverty. The largest domestic violence shelter is here in the state. Here in Springfield, there’s a lot of kids that come to the Discovery Center on a field trip, or we get to take a program to them or live streaming with them, or whatever it may be, where they have every reason to believe that the world is not a beautiful place because of the environment they’re in. We get to show them that not only is the world a beautiful place but the universe if what you make it” said Blevins.

The museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. Click here to learn more about their educational programs.

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