11-12-2023 Harford Mag - Flipbook - Page 12
S P OT L I G H T
BY MARY CAROLE MCCAULEY Harford Magazine
Children use sand to create a watershed and see the topography change at the opening of the first phase of Discovery Center at Water’s Edge, a new kids’STEM and
heritage center in Harford County. PHOTOS BY LLOYD FOX
Hands-on learning
5 things not to miss at the new children’s STEM museum
Charlie Nietubicz has coined a word — “edutainment” —
describing the mission of the new Discover Center at Water’s
Edge, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics
museum that opened Nov. 10.
“We don’t want to make this look like a classroom,” said
Nietubicz, president of the Belcamp museum. “We want
children to enjoy themselves playing without even realizing
they’re learning.”
Mission accomplished.
The new museum is in its relatively modest first phase,
with a $2 million investment in a 5,000-square-foot building,
including about eight exhibits. The museum’s board plans to
raise $4.5 million by 2025, enough to double the facility’s size
and the number of exhibits.
Eventually — after the board raises $35 million — there are
plans for a 35,000-square-foot facility that could accommodate 100,000 visitors annually. Nietubicz estimates it will take
at least five years to complete this phase.
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| Winter 2023 | harfordmagazine.com
Maggie Stutzman, 6, watches balloons and other items fly up the wind
tube at the Discovery Center at Water’s Edge.