Learning and Laughter Hand in Hand
At the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport, Mississippi’s only children’s museum, educational and exploration opportunities are endless, enriching the minds and hearts of children and adults. Visitors can crank a crane, touch a tornado, sort seafood, cross a creek, understand a pulley fully, shoot hoops on wheels, tromp in treehouses, take tea for two, star on a show and much more.
Bruce Cole, National Humanities Council; Tonya Hays and Ricky Johnson, WINGS Performing Arts Program; and First Lady Laura Bush.
Located in the former Mississippi City Elementary School, constructed in 1915 and an architectural exhibition itself, the Discovery Center offers 15,000 square feet of indoor exhibit space and six acres of outdoor play space with picnic tables. The child/adult friendly interactive exhibits include an amazing two-story indoor climbing sculpture, simulating the sea; an international travel exhibit, Celebrate the World We Share – Mexico, offering children an introduction to the culture of another country; and a History Hotel full of the treasures and secrets of Mississippi City in 1898.
Other exhibits for children and adults to enjoy include:
- Winn-Dixie Morning Market, a Mississippi grocery where visitors can find a little bit of everything
- Young Investi-Gators, allowing children to report environmental news in Wonder-full Wetlands
- What It’s Like To Be Me, where visitors take the challenge and walk in another child’s shoes
- A Matter of Science, where science is not only hands-on, but fun
- The Pelican Porch Café and Bayou Bait Shop, an outdoor restaurant exhibit
- Bear Creek, featuring an outdoor, “woodsy” cabin with a running stream to explore and a wooden child-size train
- The Tree House Village in the center’s beautiful oak trees
In addition to the exhibits, the Discovery Center also offers interactive programs – Expressions, an outreach program to area schools; Bear Cub Club, an onsite early childhood program; and WINGS Performing Arts Program for Youth. WINGS was awarded the prestigious 2007 Coming Up Taller Award presented by First Lady Laura Bush in Washington in January. Among 350 other nominees, WINGS was nationally recognized as one of 18 outstanding after school hours youth arts and humanities programs. Coming Up Taller is an initiative of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH).
The Lynn Meadows Discovery Center is one of 400 interactive children’s museums throughout the United States. Summer schedule for the Discovery Center is Monday-Saturday, 10a.m. – 5p.m., and the remainder of the year is Tuesday-Saturday, 10a.m. – 5p.m. For more information about the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, call 228-897-6039 or visit the website at www.lmdc.org.
