Discovery Museum

“…for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers

At Discovery Museum, we focus on helping kids develop the skills to learn about their world: exploration and experimentation; persistence and resilience; understanding their own and others’ emotions. Real stuff and simple materials are our preferred tools for learning. 

Our philosophy is that kids learn through play. We offer play in both a STEM-rich environment and a natural and inviting outdoor space. If you offer kids open-ended explorations, they will follow their natural instincts to observe, predict, and experiment—in other words, to be scientists. 

Discovery Museum was founded in 1982 by local teacher and naturalist Donald Verger, who opened the original Children’s Discovery Museum in a 100-year-old Victorian house and later added a second building, the Science Discovery Museum. The two buildings served the community well for 30+ years, but eventually the aging facilities were limiting both growth and disability access. 

An $8.8M capital campaign enabled us to open Discovery Woods in 2016, an inclusive nature playscape and wheels-accessible treehouse, followed by an expanded museum building in 2018 with exhibits centered on light and color, water, sound, air, pretend play, math, and tinkering. Our giant treehouse anchors a year-round series of nature and environmental programs; overall, museum staff lead more than 300 public programs each year. We now serve more than 245,000 people annually from more than 300 cities and towns in Massachusetts and beyond.

Courtesty of Discovery Museum

We also reach outside our walls to serve kids in their own communities. Since 1992, we’ve offered Traveling Science Workshops—materials-rich, hands-on STEM explorations—in schools throughout Massachusetts. These are classroom-based, not auditorium-based: each student gets a set of materials to explore. The 20+ workshop topics include Bubbles, Magnets, Force & Motion, Sound, and Physical Changes of Matter; each is aligned directly to state curriculum standards. Serving more than 55,000 students annually, with thousands participating at no cost, it is the largest STEM-focused museum outreach program in the state.

In 2022, Discovery Museum became the first children’s museum in the country to generate 100% of its electricity through on-site solar, a cornerstone of our plan toward carbon neutrality. Our 326kWh solar array meets all our electricity needs, and we resell 50% of the energy produced at a discount to five other nonprofits and 11 low-income homeowners.

© Jessica Vultaggio

With a core conviction that great play is a right of childhood, we work to remove economic, physical, and other barriers to museum visitation. We offer free or $1 admission for families receiving EBT and WIC benefits, foster families, active-duty military families, educators, students in under-resourced districts, and others. We also offer more than 25 dedicated free events each year tailored to the unique needs of children and adults with disabilities and their families. Every year we serve more than 25% of our audience for free or nearly free.

In 2024 we received our nation’s highest honor for museums, the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services National Medal for Museum Service, which celebrates “significant and exceptional contributions to community.” Also in 2024, Discovery Museum won a Best of Boston^® award from Boston magazine for Best Family-Friendly Activity, West.

Come play and learn with us! DiscoveryActon.org .

This article made possible with the support of Discovery Museum