Rockford children's museum director reflects on 43 years of learning and fun

There's something special about having a front row seat to a dream coming true. Just ask Sarah Wolf, executive director of Rockford's Discovery Center Museum.

"I'm mostly proud that when I come in here on a weekend, and I'm just in ordinary clothes, no name tag or anything, and I can just walk through and see what we always dreamed would happen — that's families would come," Wolf said. "They would have a wonderful time, and they would have fun learning together."

Wolf, a co-founder of the Discovery Center Museum and its first and only executive director, is calling it quits after 43 years. Her last day is Feb. 2.

The Belleville native who earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in education from Northern Illinois University, is a former elementary school teacher.

"Having been an elementary school teacher, I knew that the physical sciences were really harder for teachers to teach than natural sciences," she said. "You know? Bugs and plants are easier maybe, but Newton's law and everything, maybe not so easy."

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In the late '70s, Rockford already had an art museum, a natural history museum, as well as Midway Village and Tinker Swiss Cottage, but it lacked a physical science museum.

Inspiration for what would become the Discovery Center came from the Exploratorium in San Francisco and The Magic House in St. Louis, just minutes from Wolf's childhood home.

Wolf said she and her children visited the Magic House during a trip to see her parents. She said they expected to see a magic show.

"Instead, it was a hands-on museum for children with physics ideas turned into really fun exhibits. And I could see my parents, my little children, who were probably 3 and 5 years old or something like that, and me, and we were all engaged," she said. "I thought, 'This is what we need. This is what it is.'"

In 1980, exhibits were built in the basement of the old Downtown Post Office, and in 1981 the Discovery Center, operated by volunteers, opened for school field trips only. With a budget of $6,000, the center had eight exhibits. Admission for children was $0.25.

In 1989, the Discovery Center moved temporarily to Garrison School and experienced its first blockbuster exhibition — Discover Dinosaurs. It welcomed 65,000 visitors in three months.

A year later, $5.5 million dollars was raised for the construction and renovation of the old Sears building at 711 N. Main St. and on Feb. 16, 1991, the Riverfront Museum Park opened to the public.

Publications like USA Today, Forbes, Child Magazine, Family Vacation Critic, Family Fun Magazine and Reader’s Digest have all listed Discovery Center as one of the top children’s museums in the nation.

"Sarah has been an outstanding leader and a tireless advocate for informal education and the importance of play in the Rockford region," said James DiVerde, Discovery Center board chairman. "For more than 40 years, her vision and dedication to providing educational opportunities for children has touched the lives of countless people and transformed Discovery Center from an improbable endeavor into a nationally recognized museum beloved by children, parents, grandparents, and educator.”

Wolf said she considered retiring in 2020, but then the pandemic struck.

"I wanted to keep the 11 full-time staff that we have. I didn't want to have to let them go. So, we were able to do that, and we worked very closely with the Health Department on when we could reopen and how we could reopen."

At first, the museum was open only a few days a week. Groups were required to make reservations, and staff led tours of six people at a time.

"We were sanitizing everything three times a day," Wolf said. "We just went to extraordinary measures. But again, that was not the time for me to leave. You can't leave when you are down. You got to leave when you are up."

Wolf is leaving having helped secured millions of dollars in funding to replace the museum's HVAC system.

"So, I feel like things are in great shape now," she said.

Wolf is married and has two sons and daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren. She said she's looking forward to spending more time with her family and continuing her work with Alignment Rockford.

Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Retiring Rockford Discovery Center director reflects on 43-year career