Kids need a safe place to play when it’s too cold, hot, or rainy to go to the park. Discovery City Children’s Museum in downtown Port Huron has met that need in a big way. The play area is set to have its Grand Opening on October 15th from noon to 6:00 p.m. Sneak Peeks are available from September 24th-October 3rd. Register here.

The huge indoor play center has everything for kids of all ages to burn off energy, develop skills, and use their imaginations.

Discovery City Children’s Museum is located in the former Knowlton Ice Museum at 317 Grand River Avenue, just a block from Main Street in downtown Port Huron.

BlueWaterParent.com had a chance to tour the facility on September 19th, 2024.

Renee Lasher and Dawn Schweihofer of Discovery City Children’s Museum gave a detailed tour of the space and explained the various play areas. The center has been carefully designed by a team focusing on Michigan Early Learning Standards of approaches to play and learning, physical development and health, social and emotional development, creative and expressive arts, STEM (science, technology, entertainment, and math), social studies, and communication, language, and early literature development.

Upon entering Discovery City Children’s Museum, you will see sand and water tables, a huge building blocks-style play area, an animated sandbox, and more. There is an enormous water feature that contains several fish, and there are more fish tanks on the wall.

Lasher and Schweihofer explained that the 8000 square feet of playspace includes some familiar items from the very popular Discovery City that were housed at The Carnegie Center until 2023, along with other exhibits from all over the country that are now at home at the new Discovery City. There is a party area that can accommodate up to 25 people.

There are many options for creative play, including a campground area for imagining a campout, and an entire miniature city with make-believe shopping, banking, and “working” opportunities.

Kids with an interest in putting on a show have a mini-McMorran stage, complete with a replica of the one-of-a-kind stage curtain, where they can be the center of attention, along with several interactive creative spaces that you have to see to believe. One area has a scene on the wall where a child’s artwork can be integrated into the design.

There is an area for the youngest kids, aged two and under with soft furnishings and age-appropriate toys.

Finally, there is a huge indoor play structure that gives kids a variety of ways to climb, slide, and explore.

Each space has safety in mind, with appropriate flooring, lighting, and capacity limits.

Discovery City Children’s Museum has surveillance cameras monitoring the area at all times. All children must be accompanied by an adult, and lone adults are not allowed in the area. The facility has a full staff including someone at the front desk at all times.

Daily hours vary. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Entrance to Discovery City costs $10 for the first person in the family and $6 for each additional child or adult, up to four people. Those who receive EBT or WIC benefits will be charged $3 per person with up to five visitors per card. Michigan Activity Pass holders get a $1 discount.

Memberships are also available and range from $150 to $300 and allow for unlimited visits, discounted rental prices, early access to event registration, member-only events, and early admission on selected days.

Details can be found at discoverycityph.com.

A fundraiser for Discovery City Children’s Museum, an adults-only Luau is planned for October 10th. Details can be found here.

Initial funding for the Discovery City Children’s Museum came from the City of Port Huron, St. Clair County, The Community Foundation of St. Clair County, The Knowlton Foundation, the Acheson Foundation, Eastern Michigan Bank, and other community partners. Sponsorship and support opportunities are ongoing.

Story by Jennie McClelland for BlueWaterParent.com.