Visiting the Delaware Children’s Museum (DCM) in Wilmington is one thing both kids and parents can agree on. Filled with seven hands-on exhibits, an art room, café and gift shop, the DCM strives to provide a fun educational experience in a family-friendly environment.
Located on the downtown Wilmington Riverfront, the DCM has brought in more than 215,000 visitors since its doors opened in April of 2010.
According to Julie W. Van Blarcom, executive director and CEO of the museum, the idea of opening a children’s museum in Delaware had been in the works among various groups for 20 years before it came to life.
“Fast-forward 20 years and there were a number of other people who got involved including Senator Tom Carper, the county and major corporations who started looking for a site,” she explained. “Four years ago, I was hired as the first paid staff member to get the money raised, the building built and the museum open and now here we are today.”
Van Blarcom added that a team of experts was hired to design science, technology, engineering and math focused exhibits that are educational, fun and safe.
“The planning is really both for the ambiance and the environment, for the content, for the way in which the crowd will flow, down to how round the edges are, it’s a very detailed process,” she said.
Van Blarcom explained the importance of having a place that is enriching but also kid-friendly.
“You’re not coming to a museum saying ‘shhh, please don’t touch that’, or where a child has a meltdown at 11 o’clock in the morning,” she said. “We expect that. It’s safe for kids to be kids and not only is that valuable for parents, it’s a place where kids really get to do the ‘play’ that is a natural learning process for them. That’s really key about what we do here. It’s about allowing the child to collect and gather knowledge at their level.”
Van Blarcom added that the community response has been overwhelming. In the 19 months that museum has been open, it has already accumulated more than 4,000 members from Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
“The kids are really joyful, they get it right away,” she said. “They walk in and say ‘yes, this is what I want to do!’ The parents walk in and go ‘I think there’s some learning going on here,’ so it’s a very positive experience.”
Museum visitor Becky Philips has been to DCM a few times with her young daughter Penelope and said she enjoys watching her child learn through active play.
“It’s great for her as a young person to be able to go and explore things and have a lot of interactive materials where she can go and touch things and really use all of her senses and be able to run around,” she said.
Local parent Bryan Seiff added that his active son Jack always finds new things to explore at the museum.
“This is our fourth time here and he loves it,” Seiff said. “Especially on a crummy day where you can’t be outside, this is a fun place to go and he pretty much runs around until he falls down and goes to sleep.”
Inside the Delaware Children's Museum
Exec. Director and CEO, Julie Van Blarcom, and several visitors offer opinions on the museum's impact in its first 19 months.
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The museum’s presence has also had a positive effect on the Wilmington Riverfront. Michael Purzycki, executive director of the Riverfront Development Corporation said the museum has helped to increase patronage among other riverfront establishments.
“I think, clearly, the main generator down here has been the Delaware Children’s Museum because it has provided so many people with an opportunity for education and entertainment with their children,” he said. “Quantitatively and qualitatively the riverfront has benefited. We see a lot more families out here and we have a lot of family amenities here such as the Russell W. Peterson Wildlife Refuge and the DuPont Environmental Education Center. It’s a great family friendly destination.”
“We are a self-sustained entity and when you have 215,000 people coming down here, they want and need other things to do,” Van Blarcom said. “Luckily they have other things to do, we’ve got the stadium, we’ve got great restaurants, the Chase Center is doing really cool festivals and activities during the weekend and we’ve got the DuPont Environmental Education Center.”
Van Blarcom added that riverfront restaurants have increased their lunchtime business by 25 percent since the museum opened.
With an award-winning children’s menu, Iron Hill Brewery is one restaurant that has noticed an increase in business among families.
“Our weekend lunch, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, has definitely received a significant amount of traffic from the children’s museum and that’s an area where we’ve had trouble in the past getting some business,” said Jim Gardener, assistant general manager of Iron Hill Brewery. “Also during the summer, we see an increase in lunchtime business when the kids aren’t in school.”
This April will mark the DCM’s second anniversary and Van Blarcom said their future plans are based on a five year strategic plan laid out by the museum’s board of directors. That plan focuses on growth, working with the riverfront to meet the public’s needs and continuing to be self-sustained.
“At this stage of its growth, sustainability means keeping all our gears turning,” said Van Blacrom. “We're very focused this year on five key areas: developing and delivering enticing, educational programs and exhibits that help children discover science, technology and the humanities through play; attracting new and repeat visits from families and schools; cultivating and expanding the group of individuals, foundations, and corporations that support our work; providing an enjoyable, memorable learning experience for everyone who walks through our doors; and forging long-term partnerships with allied organizations in the community.”