Decade of Discovery: Discovery Playhouse celebrates milestone anniversary

The regular bustle of parents and toddlers to and from Discovery Playhouse is in itself a testament to the continuing success of the learning and play center, which celebrates its 10th year in its current location at 502 Broadway this year.

On an afternoon in the last week of December, Discovery Playhouse executive director Molly Wilhelm said it's a little funny to see the space so vibrantly decorated and filled with young children now since, before it was a children's museum, the building had previously housed a bar.

"So I think over there was the actual bar," she said, pointing to a fenced-in playground near the windows where now a young mother watched her daughter play on a rope swing and another young girl pushed a toy lawnmower. "But we've been in this location for 10 years this year."

While the Southeast Missouri Children's Museum as an organization was founded in 2006 and maintained a similar space in the mall before moving downtown, Wilhelm said the current location was where Discovery Playhouse really hit its stride, thanks in part to a variety of local corporate sponsors.

"Thanks to them, we're able to upkeep these specific areas designed for imaginative play for young kids," she said, pointing out the "grocery store," "bank window" and even a tiny "nursery" complete with tiny doctors' coats. "It's really a mini town in here."

Lane McCann, 2, in a white doctor's coat, tends to a baby doll while playing in a miniature nursery Jan. 4 at Discovery Playhouse in Cape Girardeau.

And that's just the museum's ground level; the second floor houses exhibits geared to slightly older children including a LEGO room, a full-sized airplane mounted to the ceiling and an arts-and-crafts studio.

"What we don't want is for it to be an indoor playground," she said. "We want [children] to be able to learn something; learning through play."

As she passed a music-themed room and a child could be heard thumping away happily on a miniature drum inside, she admitted it may not always look or sound like learning, but she insisted each of the stations are designed with education in mind.

"They're still kids, so they can be goofy and crazy and creative, but we really try to encourage kid and guardian interaction," she said. "So our exhibits are geared toward facilitating that sort of engagement."

Looking ahead to the next few years, Wilhelm said the organization's goals include a continuation of their growth in the current location as well as expanded programming options in the community through more proactive outreach efforts to create even more such engagement.

Cecily Fowler, 5, dances onstage in a theatre-themed play area Jan. 4 at Discovery Playhouse in Cape Girardeau. Fowler, who turned 5 Jan. 3, was celebrating her birthday at Discovery Playhouse.

Later, on the first Saturday of the new year, the museum was as full as ever with plenty of guardian-and-child interaction on display. While watching her 2-year-old son, Lincoln, pretend to drive a firetruck in the lower level, Dakota Burns said the museum is a favored play spot for her and Lincoln.

"He loves it," she said. "The first time we came here it was for a birthday party, and we ended up staying for like three hours after the party was supposed to end."

Upstairs, 5-year-old Cecily Fowler of Bernie, Missouri, was celebrating her own birthday with her first-ever visit to Discovery Playhouse with friends and family. After summiting a small mountain of tires at one exhibit and climbing up a series of "ninja warrior" obstacles, she found herself especially drawn to a different exhibit: the theatre stage.

"This part is my favorite," she said, having donned a flowy blue dress. "Because I dance."

And with that, she hopped back onstage to complete her dervish-twirling routine before running off in search of a new favorite exhibit.