Early in the pandemic, the Discovery Center began offering a free daycare for children of healthcare workers.
That effort has earned the center the Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for community service .
The award is from the Association of Science and Technology Center, an international nonprofit group that most children’s and science museums are a part of.
“When you get the attention and recognition of your peers that are doing the same work day in and day out, it’s extremely meaningful to our team," said Rob Belvins, executive director of the Discovery Center..
The center has won several awards for their work during the pandemic and their new STEM preschool that opened last year.
Blevins believes helping prepare children for kindergarten is important.
“Having that ability to start with them earlier is going to produce even better outcomes, so we are super excited for that," he said.
Although the preschool is tuition based, there are scholarships and sliding scale prices available.
