Children’s Discovery Center opens at Mt. Pleasant Library

MT. PLEASANT — Tuesday, Feb. 7 Mt. Pleasant Public Library’s Children Department will host a soft opening of the Children’s Discovery Center.

Shortly before the country locked down due to the Pandemic in 2020, the Children’s Department hosted a soft opening for the center.

Since then, library staff have worked tirelessly to make the space even bigger and better.

“They cut down half of that wall,” Scheitlin explained as she pointed toward a bright yellow wall.

According to the Children Department’s Assistant Director Tia Scheitlin, during the lockdown, a section of the basement where the center is located flooded.

“We didn’t have as much of this,” Scheitlin said of the opening in 2020. “We just had a little bit of stuff because we wanted to see what families liked to do … We added more to it.”

The brightly colored walls welcome families and children to a space ready for imaginative play and childhood exploration.

Freehand chalk drawings by Scheitlin add more whimsy to the space.

A PVC pipe system located near the pretend kitchen area travels across two rooms of the center for children to send secret messages to one another.

“I hear you loud and clear,” Scheitlin’s whisper arrived across the PVC system to the other side.

An excited smile crossed Scheitlin’s face as she showed off the rest of the center.

The center also includes a Lincoln Log room filled with extra-large Lincoln logs, a smaller builder’s section, and a music room.

“I love this thing,” Scheitlin said as she played on the PVC Pipe Drum.

“Did you know that they can tune this?” she shared about the locally built musical instrument.

The Center also contains a number of imagination stations such as the play kitchen, a doctor’s office, and a stage with costumes.

The kitchen contains many Melissa and Doug pretend-play toys, a large skeleton resides in the doctor’s office area, and a multitude of wooden building blocks await their construction in the building area.

Scattered throughout the space patrons will find play opportunities with light tables, balance boards, and other sensory toys, as well.

While the Center already hosts a myriad opportunities for creative and imaginative play, more is coming.

“The room that is locked right now is going to be geared toward third through fifth grade,” Scheitlin said.

The intention for the upper-elementary room includes more science-based activities.

Over the last year the library staff, with the assistance of city employees tapped into their inner-children to create this space with obvious enthusiasm.

“The city guys came and organized all [the building area] for us,” Scheitlin said. “They came and helped put the tables together, organized that area, they’re still building or waiting for the paint to dry on step stools for some of the areas.”

“You should have seen them, they put all those [curtains] up for us, and one of the guys said ‘you know, this would be good as a reading nook! I would totally go there,’” Scheitlin said of the city workers.

According to Scheitlin, toddlers through elementary school-aged children will most enjoy this center.

“I love this space,” Scheitlin said with a bright small.

Initially the Discovery Center will open Tuesday noon-2 p.m. and Fridays 10 a.m.-noon.

There is no charge to use the Discovery Center.

To enter the Discovery Center, patrons will use the door located between the Wisdom Quest building and the Library. The entrance is located a short walk from the sign on the building that currently reads “Children’s Discovery Museum.”

Just follow colorful path to the Children Discovery Center’s entrance.

According to Scheitlin, the sign will change to reflect the different name.

“We didn’t want to call it a museum …” Scheitlin said. “It is a center, a discovery center.”

The Library’s policy states that children eight and under must be accompanied by an adult or responsible person over the age of 14.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com