DAVIS — A beloved local science center dedicated to cultivating children’s curiosity about science and nature through hands-on learning could be forced to seriously scale back its operations or even close for good.
The nonprofit Explorit Science Center in Davis has been open for more than 40 years, serving hundreds of children at summer camp each year. Year-round, they estimate at least tens of thousands of families have walked through their front door since the very beginning.
Explorit’s team of educators, scientists, and volunteers also deliver interactive science experiences to school-based groups in Yolo County and beyond, providing over 230 school programs that reached more than 8,500 students in the past year alone.
“I like the simplicity of it. There’s something that makes me feel like it was from my youth, you know?” said Matt Campbell, visiting Explorit with his daughter Grace on Friday afternoon.
From a pretend international space station to lessons in gravity to a slithering snake and lightning demonstrations — if you can think it, you can explore it.
“I really do feel like we’d be doing the world a service with more curious people,” said Ken Kaplan, president of Explorit’s board of trustees. “As a professor, I know how important it is to actually try things tactically, hold things, feel how things work, make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.”
The center, run entirely on donations and the occasional grant funding, says it is facing a critical financial challenge due to rising costs and declining donations.
“We’re concerned that we can’t get through the summer right now. That’s why we sent out this flare, this call for help. We want to deliver programming to the community that it expects, for Explorit to be there for them,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan said that losing the Explorit in Davis would be a huge hit to the community. He wants their mission to merge science and screen-free, hands-on learning to live on.
“We need your support more than ever,” Kaplan said.
The best way to support Explorit, Kaplan said, is to make a donation on their website or sign your children up for summer camp and bring them to visit the center.
Day-of tickets to visit the Explorit cost only $5 and annual family memberships can be purchased online.