gaylord discovery center

We stopped here on our way home to Vermont. I love that the activities are not fancy and don't feature a lot of bells and whistles and lights and sounds. My five-year-old raced around doing challenges and building and learning and having fun. My ten-year-old did some of the harder challenges with me. In addition to doing the maze and water and building challenges, we had fun in the big sand pit and with the puppets and other play items. What truly makes this place unique and worthwhile are the hosts and owners - Kyle and Sarah. They interact with the kids and parents, giving challenges, helping to explain and understand the various exhibits and why things work the way they do. They are also quick to identify and draw parents' attention to their childrens' unique talents and skills, which parents always love!

This place is fun for kids, lots of space and different, focused activities. Gives parents a break for a while as the kids entertain themselves. I have younger kids (ages 3 & 5) and they love all of the activities. I've seen the staff entertain teenagers with different challenges and activities. Great place to stop off and let the kids have a place to play. It's not a huge, multi-million dollar children's museum, but the activities within are similar in design -- play and learn at the same time. Price is better than spending the same money and walking through a local "museum" for 5 minutes and your money is gone. The kids can play for a few hours here.

Great idea and working to grow the business. A great time for the kids when the weather is bad or they're just board. Our kids were beat when they were done. Perfect!

Our family (incl. a 4 & 6 year old) were in Gaylord for vacation and the weather one day turned rainy. So, looking for a way to spend the day we found the Discovery Center. We bought an all-day pass and the kids had a blast. It's nothing fancy, but if your kid has an imagination, they'll have a great time. There's an indoor sandbox (which salves not being able to be outside on vacation for sure!), a lot of great toys and the kids loved it. We went back to the cabin for lunch, and then the kids demanded to go back! I think it's a great place; don't expect the polish of Disney World, but know that it's a safe and fun place for kids to play!

I found it to be an ingenious place to enjoy an afternoon. I intend to take my grandchildren there as often as possible. it is a place where you can interact with your children or let them explore on their own. The activities require anyone to use their mind to reach the reaction you want. I know most adults would be challenged to solve the water maze to get the water through the water wheel. Watching your child's reaction when the can understand the cause and effect of what they are doing is priceless. The activities are designed to serve the entire community from the smallest children to Adult activities. you can book the place for a party or any occasion. I know they have expansions planned that will include party rooms. I hope everyone who has a free afternoon and they want something to do with their children will give it a try.\

I was not impressed, not very clean... Had toys that were purchased from a garage sale/resale shop that were very dirty. Floor was all wet from the water table and people tracking the water all over from their socks being wet YUK! Price should be lower for the adults since we are just there to monitor our children/grandchildren, would be nice to have a nicer adult area to sit while children play.. If you want a nice snack bring your own, was not impressed with what they had not to mention the cost... Bottom line I would not return...

We are so glad you had fun and keep coming back for more! Thanks!

We are so glad you enjoyed your visit! Thank you for your praise and input. We will do what we can to make the whole environment more welcoming to parents.

I am so glad you enjoyed your trip! We are always happy to contribute to local events, especially for kids. Your praise is very appreciated.

I am very sorry you were disappointed, I thought your daughters had fun. Our small town does not have the same resources as big cities and we are always working to improve. Our conversation was helpful and I thought it had resolved the issue.

i LOVe this place.Great FuN and exciting palce for kids...allot of educational things to do and the kids have no idea they are doing EDUCATIONAL FUN!!!

We went this past spring and had a blast! We easily spent 6 hours playing and discovering what they had. I love that the owner reuses many common items we may think to throw away, he creates things that the kids can use to build, experiment, make sounds and explore new ideas. We really loved the huge blocks and the enormous sandbox! We plan on going back, It's a bit of a hike for us from T.C. BUT I really do like Discovery better than our local Children's Museum, there is so much more to do! I forgot to mention that the owner(s) are very passionate about their endeavor. They take a lot of pride in what they have accomplished on a very limited budget. Many other "museums' rely on funds from other sources. We will gladly make the trip to Gaylord again :)

Thank you for your review. We had found that our winter staff was not cleaning as expected. I apologize that we were not fulfilling our own standards of cleanliness, it is VERY important to us. We have corrected our cleaning schedule. We are thankful for the toys that have been donated to us and are working hard to improve as quickly as possible.

The Gaylord Discovery Center is a fun filled activity center for families. We took our two grandsons ages 7 and 9 for an afternoon while traveling through Gaylord. They enjoyed the different hands on activities and made friends with other children while there. In todays age of computer and electronic games, this is a great alternative to get kids active and engaging with one another, while using their minds to think of solutions to the challenges in the activites, such as making it through the maze before the clock runs out or figuring out how to get water to flow from one place to another. They offer a family pass that is a good option if you are able to come back again or bring more family members another time.

I took 5 kids to the Discovery Center for a Christmas treat. Ages included a 7yr old, 2 8 yr olds, 9 yr and an 11 yr old. They had a blast with all of the activities! Building blocks and water structure were most likely the favorites of the younger ones, while my 11 yr old loved most the musical area made out of older toys. They really liked the challenges given them and worked hard to obtain them! They couldn't wait to accomplish a challenge to go pick out a little prize. The challenges were'nt gimmees either, they had to think and work at them. I should've heeded the warning of bringing extra clothing/socks as the water structure was wonderful, but they got very wet. Next time we will bring shorts and extra socks for that area. Some of the kids' parents are leaders of scout groups, and I'd bet that the boy and girl scouts will get over there soon after hearing the kids talk about their day! We spent 3 hours there and then went to eat...they all wanted to go back! I had to get home. My 11 yr old is in bed right now and it is only 8:30 at night...I think that was worth the price of admission as he played hard! :) They were all talking about the next time they went what they would do...sound like a hit to me! :) I'm glad running, thinking, yelling, playing indoors is available in Northern Michigan! Thanks to Kyle who was working today and so wonderful with all the kids!