For 23 years, the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum has provided children with a space to play while learning about the Central Coast and developing important motor and social skills.
Educating children has always been at the core of the museum’s mission, but since last year, the museum has worked on strengthening this effort, Executive Director Nancy Gastelum said.
After becoming the museum’s director last year, Gastelum said she knew she wanted to make changes to bolster the educational programs the museum offers in conjunction with its 40 exhibits.
“Children were engaged, but I knew they could be further engaged,” Gastelum said.
Part of enhancing the museum’s educational capabilities included creating an educational director position, which Gastelum filled in July with the hiring of Ilsa Toepfer, who has years of experience in teaching and early child development.
Since joining the museum, Toepfer has begun analyzing each exhibit and coming up with activities for museum staff and teachers to incorporate into the attraction. The priority, she said, is creating a fun experience that sparks a child’s imagination.
“The easiest way to teach is when [children] don’t realize they’re learning,” Toepfer said.
On top of these changes, the museum is developing new exhibits.
By the end of this year, Gastelum hopes to unveil a coastal pier exhibit with a large mural depicting the Central Coast based on photos of Jalama Beach. The exhibit will also include a 3-foot-tall pier children can catch fake fish off of, as well as an interactive tidal zone.
Additionally, the museum is adding to its Vandenberg Air Force Base launch exhibit, which includes terminals that teach children about rocket launches. Late this fall, the museum is adding a celestial ceiling above the terminals, which will show rockets being launched into outer space.
“Children will be able to learn about planets and constellations,” Gastelum said. “It’ll kind of be like a little mini planetarium … in as much as they’ll get to see things that they don’t normally get to see.”
The museum is also working on raising $275,000 to fund a new farm-to-table exhibit to teach children about where the food they eat comes from. The exhibit would highlight the importance and history of farming in the Santa Maria Valley.
Gastelum said the museum began raising money for this exhibit at its annual fundraiser last year and will continue to do so at its fundraiser in September. Tickets for the event can be purchased on the museum’s website.
These future exhibits, much like the museum’s existing attractions, are based on local experiences that reflect the Central Coast and teach children about the world right outside their door, Gastelum said.
“A children’s museum is learning through play … and so they’re learning about their own community as they’re playing, and it helps teach them the value of the community within which they live,” Gastelum said.
Highlights:
• The Santa Maria Valley Humane Society is running a no-cost adoption event from Aug. 17 through 18, during the National Clear the Shelters Event. All animals have been spayed or neutered and are microchipped and up to date on all vaccines. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.
• The Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau and Healthy Lompoc Coalition are hosting Healthy Lompoc Night on Aug. 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. The event includes a bicycle ride with the city’s mayor, as well as community walks with local physicians.
Staff Writer Zac Ezzone wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, mail, or email at spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 15-22, 2019.