Creating a Model for Iowa
The Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center’s Capital Campaign has surpassed $4,700,000 raised and is still hoping to raise an additional $2,000,000 by the end of 2021 in order to bid the project this winter and break ground next spring. If you are considering donating -- now is the time! Members of the Fundraising Team have been busy making continuous contact with potential donors, families and businesses throughout the region. But we still need you!
The complex project is an innovative approach to the lack of available childcare in Winneshiek County. The unique model and business plan are being recognized not only by local donors, but also by state and regional organizations and individuals that care deeply about early childhood education and creating a childcare model that works.
Recently, Stephanie Fromm and Lora Friest, Winneshiek County Development and Tourism, were able to present the project to the Enhance Iowa Community, Attraction and Tourism Board. The presentation heavily focused on the tourism aspect of the facility - the Discovery Center.
While Decorah and Winneshiek County have a robust tourism climate, the new Discovery Center will not only attract new families to the area by providing indoor and outdoor learning and play opportunities for children, but will also keep tourists in the area longer by encouraging individuals and couples to return with their children and providing one more activity for families to enjoy during cold winter months and hot summer days. This, in turn, extends stays and increases expenditures through food, beverage, shopping purchases while in the area. The Discovery Center is not only for Sunflower children, but for all children.
The facility will be open to the public on evenings and weekends for a day use fee, through annual membership, or through program admittance. It will also be open by appointment during the day to childcares, school groups, home schoolers, and youth groups through shared scheduling with the Sunflower Child Development Center. This arrangement will maximize regional use of the facility during the day when most parents are working and then draw families and tourists from both inside and outside the region after work and on weekends.
Decorah and Winneshiek County are tourist destinations, especially for families who want to recreate on trails and in parks. Currently, there are no children’s museums in a twelve-county region of Northeast Iowa, Southeast Minnesota, and Southwest Wisconsin. After various modeling, the Discovery Center is said to attract more than 14,000 visitors every year. Therefore, this project will complement existing tourism efforts and also create a new tourism draw to help the community and region become more “family friendly” for residents and tourists with small children. Sunflower will provide high quality learning to all ages and the revenue generated from ticket sales will offset the costs for the child care center, providing higher wages and access to benefits for staff, creating a more sustainable business model, and ultimately taking pressure off of families by keeping childcare costs more affordable.
Inside Sunflower’s Discovery Center:
The proposed Discovery Center will prioritize active learning through movement, exploration, and play, with indoor age-appropriate playgrounds and active learning areas. It will have two large indoor play spaces that encourage large motor skill development, movement and recreation. The first large indoor play space will be a Toddler Play Space, which will have play equipment and space where infants and toddlers can crawl, run, climb and explore movement concepts safely. The second indoor space will be for children ages 3 and up and will focus on play and sports equipment and space that encourages movement and is more suited to, and can be adapted to, their individual and group needs. A portion of the larger play area will also be used periodically to set up a portable/inflatable planetarium for astronomy, cave, and ocean programs. The larger play area will be structurally designed and constructed to serve as a storm shelter for the facility when needed.
The Discovery Center will also have at least 6 active learning areas themed around the STEAM strands of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Music, and Math. Children of all ages will be challenged to learn new concepts and more complex ideas through play in these areas. Although design of these specific areas is ongoing with local and state experts, some themes for these areas that are currently under consideration are Farm and Agriculture, Energy Creation and Use, Sounds, Waves, Wind and Movement, Aerospace Exploration, Blocks, Buildings and Construction, Parts, Pieces, Gears and Machines, and Hospital and Health. These spaces will include activities such as light tables, Duplo tables, puppet theater space and universal play equipment.
As outlined in the business plan, some of the play and learning equipment in these areas will be changed out to keep them fresh, rotating every few months, and other equipment will be stored when it is not in use, so a large storage room is also included in the Discovery Center’s architectural plans. This will maximize the tourism potential for the facility. A multi-purpose room for children’s programming, children’s parties, and other small group gatherings is also included in the building to encourage small groups to use the facility.
Outside the new facility, interactive outdoor play areas and outdoor program areas will be developed. Outdoor stations under consideration include fun learning areas that teach about alternative energy, music, native plants, composting, and rainwater/stormwater. Many of these learning stations will be incorporated into a Nature Playscape.
You can help provide these learning and play spaces to our community’s children and expand the strong and sustainable tourism economy of Winneshiek County. Please consider making a financial pledge to the Discovery Center. Learn more at DecorahDiscovery.org.
