Great Explorations Children’s Museum plans new Discovery Center with focus on STEAM education

But as the museum’s reach and preschool enrollment continue to grow, so has its need for space.

“We love this current location, but we have outgrown it. Our preschool alone has a waitlist of 300 kids,” said CEO Angeline Howell in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

The first step in the museum’s growth is creating a Discovery Center, a new space where kids can explore STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) through hands-on learning.

Howell envisions the center as a space where children of all ages can explore, question, and build confidence through interactive experiences.

For younger visitors, exhibits would emphasize imaginative play and problem-solving. For older students, programming would lean toward career exploration with experiences in chemistry, space, architecture, robotics, and 3D printing.

“We would first need to find a building to open a discovery center, as kids truly learn through hands-on education,” Howell explained. “The vision is to keep the preschool and museum here [on 4th Street North] until we can eventually move everything to the larger location.”