FAMILY

Lewes discovery center will mix hands-on learning, history fun for kids

KIM HOEY
DELMARVA NOW CORRESPONDENT

Kyra Elmer, of Lewes, has four children under the age of 14. Finding meaningful fun things for them all to do is a pretty big undertaking. She thinks the new interactive children’s section of the Lewes History Museum will be a great addition to her children’s education.

Inside the Margaret H. Rollins Community Center and Lewes History Museum in Lewes, Del. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. The museum is planning to open a new addition — the Children's Discovery Center.

She’s wanted to take the children to other interactive children’s museums, but the distance to the nearest one has made it impractical, she said.

That’s exactly what the directors of the Lewes Historical Society thought when they came up with the idea of the interactive children’s center. They wanted something educational, but fun — something that children would want to visit.

The idea was to take very high level concepts and learning opportunities and make them accessible to children at their level, said J. Marcos Salaverria, director of education for the Lewes Historical Society. He’s been working for more than a year on how to fit centuries of Lewes history into one room.

“It’s coming together bit by bit,” he said. “There are a lot of ideas and a lot of history to discover. We’re trying to refine it and make it the best experience it can be.”

What they have refined for the center, which is tentatively set to open in July 2018, is a set of hands-on exhibits that cover different eras and activities important to the Lewes area.

Those exhibits include a general store and post office where children can “shop” or tend the counter, a replica of the Cape Henlopen lighthouse and the lighthouse keepers' house, a shipbuilding table where children can fit pieces together to try their hands at building model ships and a spot to build their own breakwater.

Other information expected to be covered includes the founding of Lewes, the native people of the Lewes area, and even the history of Beebe Hospital, said Salaverria, a former teacher and lifelong history buff.

It has a definite maritime leaning, said E. Mike DiPaolo, executive director of the historical society.

More:SoDel: Behind the scenes at one of Delaware's most successful restaurant empires

More:H2Oi, other Ocean City car events target of two new bills

One of the most anticipated exhibits is expected to be the river boat training simulator that would allow children to virtually learn about guiding boats down the river. It’s like stepping aboard the bridge of a ship and trying to navigate the canal, said DiPaolo. The visuals are actually of the Delaware River and the software is very similar to what actual Delaware River Pilots train on, he explained.

“When I say kids, I mean kids of all ages,” said DiPaolo, with a laugh, when asked the age group for which the children’s center was designed. Really, though, exhibits are aimed at the 3- to 11-year-old crowd, he said.

It will also be used as a springboard to tie together the 14 historic sites throughout Lewes that make up the historical society, said Salaverria.

The center is being designed as a part of the new Lewes History Museum, housed in the former Lewes Public Library. 

Besides the children’s exhibit, the museum and community center is expected to house 10,000 historic objects, 100,000 historic photographic images, 4,000 volumes of Lewes and Delaware history and 250,000 pages of documents, all obtained and preserved by the historical society during its 52 years of existence.

The children’s center is being designed to fit in the former children’s section of the 12,500-foot library building.

The budget for the children’s section of the building renovation is $600,000 of the total $3 million fundraising goal. With two $150,000 naming donors already in place, from the Schell and Marshall family foundations, and several other private donations and grants, the society is getting very close to meeting its funding goal.

“People are really excited about it,” said DiPaolo.

MORE: Florida school shooting: Selbyville Middle creates banner of support

MORE: Rehoboth fitness guru downsizes to find niche

The area is growing with lots of families, not just retirees, said DiPaolo. While there is a lot to do outside, the society thought there was a lack of the educational opportunities for children that modern museums offer. The museum needed an educational space for children and educational play opportunities, he said.

The museum staff is already planning to offer summer camps and day camp experiences through the center.

For Elmer, it sounds perfect for her children. Her 10-year-old son, Aaron, has dyslexia. He loves history, but reading about it isn’t really an option. A hands-on way to learn the history of the area would “be a really great thing,” she said. Having it close by makes it feasible, she said.

“This is going to be different,” said DiPaolo.