Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau: Nationally-recognized Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, Ill., unveils new exhibits and expanded gallery space

Rockford, IL – There’s far more hands-on fun and exploration to be had at the Discovery Center Museum since the museum unveiled 30% more exhibit space in late June, making room for new exhibit galleries, classrooms, an outdoor courtyard and a 3,000 square-foot special events hall.

With more than 200 hands-on experiences, this nationally recognized children’s museum now features the following new exhibits:

Ag-Zibit

Discovery Center’s newest experience for children of all ages features 17 hands-on components that illustrate how agriculture touches our lives every day. Explore the science, technology, engineering and math behind the food, fiber and fuel that comes from the farm as you climb aboard a real tractor, operate a combine, milk the cows, gather eggs, learn about GPS on the farm, find out how big an acre really is, study a real bee hive and more!

Air and Flight now has a new home on the first floor next to the Ag-Zibit, with a hot air balloon and rocket launcher that makes great use of the two-story space.

Tot Spot

The exhibit space for young visitors is all-new, all-amazing, and more than twice as big as before! Besides enjoying role-play places like the pizza parlor, vet clinic and grocery store, kids ages 6 and younger and their grown-ups can “Make It Go” with the train, coal car and depot; “Make It Flow” (and squirt and bubble) in the huge water play area; and “Make it Blow” through giant tubes filled with sparkles, balls and fluff.

Junior engineers can move materials with a kid-powered crane, create their own gravity ball maze, and build structures of all sizes. Kids and parents can step through the porch of Ginny’s House for family role-play fun that even includes working on the car in the attached garage!

The new Baby Spot is designed for the littlest learners, letting toddlers and infants engage their senses with specially designed toys in a space all their own.

“The Discovery Center has a long-standing tradition of making learning fun for kids, and the extra space and new exhibits allow us to offer even more hands-on, tactile learning experiences that are just plain fun,” said Ann Marie Walker, Discovery Center Marketing Manager.

Discovery Center Museum is a non-profit science and children’s museum with over 200 hands-on exhibits, a planetarium and an outdoor science park. Discovery Center is ranked the #4 children’s museum in the nation by Child magazine and one of the top 10 children’s museums in the nation by The National Geographic Society. Come enjoy old favorites and explore new fun!

Location: Inside Riverfront Museum Park, 711 N. Main St., Rockford, Ill.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays; noon to 5 p.m. Sundays

General admission: $7, free for children 2 and younger and museum members

More information: 815.963.6769, http://www.discoverycentermuseum.org

Rockford, IL, is located approximately 60 minutes west of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport off Interstate 90. For information on accommodations and things to do, visit http://www.gorockford.com. The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit organization that champions efforts to promote and further develop the Rockford Region as an overnight visitor destination. RACVB generates positive economic impact for the community through investments in tourism marketing, sales, promotion and advocacy.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mika Doyle, RACVB Communications Coordinator: 815.489.1678, (cell) 815.289.5883, mdoyle@gorockford.com

Ann Marie Walker, Discovery Center Marketing Manager: 815.963.6769, ext. 2832, annmariew@discoverycentermuseum.org