Discovery World on Market will open in the coming weeks - a sneak peak

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - Discovery World on Market will be opening its doors in about two weeks, more specifically April 2nd.

Discovery World’s Education Manager Jill McDonald said of the museum, “I believe the community impact would be to help children be exposed to lots of careers, lots of S.T.E.A.M. activities, which is science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.”

The museum is made up of four floors - each with its own theme. For instance, one floor is factory-themed while another is river-themed.

McDonald demonstrated on one of the activities, “Kids will be able to see animals that are along our river banks in Ohio and West Virginia. When they hit the buttons - these bright lit up buttons or sit on a tree stump - the animals do different things,”

The S.T.E.A.M. learning here is interactive. For instance, kids can design Lego cars and adjust them to make them as fast as possible then race them. They also get to build dams, rockets, make stop motion movies, do woodworking, and more.

You can find inspiration from the Mid-Ohio Valley throughout Discovery World, from a roadmap of Parkersburg kids can build on to interactive factory-themed activities.

McDonald said, “Because we are a big manufacturing area and lots of family members work in factories, we want our kids to relate to that. They have construction hats and vests they can put on. They can be like their grandmas and grandpas and their dads and moms.”

The community has been generous in supporting Discovery World’s creation.

“We have people donating things on a regular basis, wanting to teach classes. It’s just kind of like a giant hug from the community…,” McDonald said.

She believes the museum’s influence will span beyond the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“We’re bringing more tourism in and we’re bringing people into this town and I think that will help change the face of Parkersburg,” she said.

The doors will be open from 12pm to 5pm on opening day.

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