Great Explorations Children's Museum is turning to Bay Area families, educators and students for help shaping a proposed Discovery Center designed for older children and early teens. The idea is to stretch the museum’s hands-on STEAM footprint beyond its current focus on kids 10 and under while a formal feasibility study is underway. Before anything gets locked in, museum leaders are holding a series of public forums this month to see what the community actually wants.
Community Forums This Month
Museum organizers have lined up several free public forums at Bay Point Middle School, 5800 22nd St. S., with sessions on July 8 (8–9 a.m. and 12:30–1:30 p.m.). More meetings are scheduled for July 15 (a youth community forum at 4 p.m.), July 16 (two sessions), and a final morning gathering on July 22. Registration is encouraged but not required, according to FOX 13.
What The Center Would Offer
Leaders say the Discovery Center would mash up children’s-museum play with science-center style interactivity tailored to older youth, with plans for chemistry experiments, robotics, 3D printing, space programming and engineering challenges. "Our goal is to be able to capture the family from birth all the way through eighth grade," Laurel Ginn told WFLA. Museum officials say the proposed space is meant to support both career-exploration pathways and weekend STEAM programming for middle-schoolers.
Museum Background
Great Explorations has been serving Bay Area families since 1987 from its current home at 1925 4th Street North near Sunken Gardens, with exhibits designed for children 10 and younger. The nonprofit also operates an on-site preschool and highlights its American Alliance of Museums accreditation on its website, pointing to decades of local programming and outreach. As outlined by Great Explorations, the organization has repeatedly adjusted and expanded as demand has grown.
Past Coverage And The Pitch
The Discovery Center concept has been circulating for months. A local report last fall laid out a vision for a 10,000-plus-square-foot STEAM facility focused on older students and career pathways. That coverage also noted that museum leaders have been scouting larger locations so they can grow programming while keeping their preschool and main museum in place, as reported by St. Pete Rising.
Timeline And Next Steps
Museum leaders emphasize that the project is still in the early stages, with a feasibility study set to collect public feedback before any final decisions are made. Organizers told WFLA they would not gain access to a potential new location until June 2027 and expect to remain at the current site for at least another year, with a fundraising campaign to follow the study.
How To Take Part
The forums are open to parents, grandparents, educators, students and business leaders, and youth are specifically encouraged to show up for the July 15 session. Registration is encouraged but not required, and organizers say the ideas shared in these meetings will directly shape exhibit planning and programming, according to FOX 13.
For St. Pete families, museum leaders are pitching this as a rare chance to help design a homegrown science-and-discovery hub that grows alongside the city’s kids. If the Discovery Center moves forward, they say it will be aimed squarely at filling a gap in STEAM experiences for the middle-grade crowd.
