
Disclosure: Our family was provided complimentary admission to the Discovery Center. I was not required to express a particular point of view and all opinions are my own.
Over the summer, my family and I had the opportunity to visit Discovery Center in Rockford again. As always, we had a great time exploring this highly rated children's museum.
Highlights:
- Fun rotating exhibits! We did check out their newest exhibit, Treasure!, before it left Discovery Center. The big hit with my kids included firing cannon balls at pirate ships, searching for treasure using a metal detector, controlling a remote controlled vehicle underwater, and of course picking a treasure of his own from the cool treasure chest.

- While Treasure! is no longer at the museum, stay tuned for more fun this fall. Their latest exhibit, Build It! Make It!, opening Oct 5th will showcase Legos, K'Nex, and Imagination Playground giant foam tinker toy blocks into a creative space to play with ideas, explore materials and tinker with tools! This sounds so much fun as it embodies the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) movement that has recently become so popular.
- Trains, trains, and more trains! I ain't gonna lie - my sons are absolute train fans, and I couldn't pull them away from this section. My sons loved the train table and the train structure where they could pretend they were conductors, ring the bell, and transfer coal to the back compartment of the train.


Tips to enjoy Discovery Center Museum:
- Spend the whole day at their museum campus! Located adjacent to the Discovery Center is the Burpee Museum which is well worth it to check out their two dinosaurs on display, Jane, a juvenile t-rex, and now Homer, a triceratops.
Bottom Line:
As always, we enjoyed our trip to the the Discovery Center. The temporary exhibit was fun, but the real hit with the kids is their fun permanent exhibits including the train section.
Nitty Gritty:
Website: http://www.discoverycentermuseum.org/
Ticket prices: Admission costs $8.00 per person; kids 1 and under are free. Admission is free for members of the ASTC membership.
Location: 711 North Main Street, Rockford
Parking: Parking lot with plenty of space.
Stroller-friendly? Yes!
Food: Bring some snacks and your own food as there is no place to purchase food.
Crowded: We were here on a Friday afternoon and it was not crowded.
Have you been to Discovery Center in Rockford? What is your favorite exhibit?
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