ROCKINGHAM — Discovery Place Kids has been awarded a $75,000 grant, which will be used to help low-income families experience the museum.
DPK-Rockingham is one of 58 similar institutions across the state to receive funding from the N.C. Science Museums Grant Program, according to a Feb. 10 press release from the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The release states that the grants — ranging from $11,338.50 to $75,000 — were awarded “based on criteria that promote the priorities of state government, with a primary goal of enhancing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education opportunities for the public, particularly in low-resource communities.”
Most of the museums in Tier 1 counties — the most economically distressed — like Richmond received grants of $75,000.
Museum Director Angela Watkins said the grant would be used for the Welcome Program, which offsets admission costs for families on government assistance. Through the program, the entry fee is $3 per person, more than one-third of the normal admission.
“The North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program helps fund critical science education in all parts of our state,” Pamela B. Cashwell, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, said in the release. “These grants will increase access to STEM experiences no matter where you live in North Carolina.”
Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville and Discovery Place Science in Charlotte — both in Tier 3 Mecklenburg County — received $19,646.31 and $23,120.30, respectively.
According to the press release, the grants “were applied to the 2025–2026 fiscal year budgets of these institutions with similar awards in the new fiscal year.”
“North Carolina has more science museums than any other state and this funding supports them as they advance informal science education," said Denise Young, director of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, a division of DNCR.
DPK-Rockingham was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the Amazon Richmond County Community Fund, and $10,000 from the Duke Energy Foundation.
The museum opened in 2013 and will be hosting its 13th birthday celebration from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. Admission is free for the first 200 guests.
DPK is also bringing back its Storybook Ball in March.
