We want to hear from you!
Help us decide what is next. Help us grow to better serve our community.
Help us build a better home.
Thanks to you the SD Discovery Center has been in our community for over 30 years!
We are proud of what we have done here at the SD Discovery Center since its founding in 1989. We are a jewel in our community, and we make a difference every day with your help. But now, it is time to look to the future.
What is next for us?
Top of our list is that we will not be able to stay at our current site for much longer. Our basement classrooms can no longer be used. Water damage and lack of a fire exit has taken that space out of play.
Our large, iconic windows, which make our space unique, leak when it rains. We have water in our basement, and the cost of repairs continue to increase. The City of Pierre, who owns our building, is unable to keep up with the growing needs and costs of repairs.
We have grown our team and are out of office and classroom space. With the lot and building constraints, we are unable to expand to add more space. It is time to look at our options and find a new home.
In the late 1980s, the idea of a science center in Pierre was championed by Mayor Grace Peterson and many others. The SD Discovery Center became the largest of the lasting legacy projects that took place in over 300 cities across the state for South Dakota's 100th birthday.
We think you will agree that the SD Discovery Center has given back to its community tenfold and has been a source of pride ever since.
We bring school groups and tourists to our hands-on exhibit hall; we engage local youth in our summer camps; we help teachers statewide with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education; and we invite all ages from preschool to adults, to dig into science.
We want everyone to see themselves as a citizen scientist, and we want children to think this could be me, when looking at future career options.