The Rockingham City Council voted Tuesday to move forward with a plan that would bring a satellite of Charlotte’s Discovery Place to Washington Street.

For the past five years, Discovery Place has considered expanding beyond Charlotte through a venture in regional children’s science museums. Discovery Place KIDS in Huntersville is scheduled to open in the fall.

The City of Rockingham invited Discovery Place to consider the downtown area of the city as its second destination. The idea is being received positively from the town and community leaders who were surveyed by a consultant during March and April. The City of Rockingham will be responsible for providing a building for Discovery Place KIDS, and in turn Discovery Place KIDS will have the responsibility of furnishing the building. An option to purchase the former McKenzie Furniture building on Washington Street has been made for $1,000, for a period of 12 months. Both the City Council and Discovery Place KIDS believe the building will meet the needs of the children’s museum.

“I’m pleased to be able to state that we have the opportunity to place Discovery Place KIDS in Rockingham,” said Mayor Gene McLaurin. “For Rockingham, having the brand ‘Discovery Place’ associated with it is huge.”

Discovery Place KIDS will provide a place for children of all ages to engage in playful learning adventures. The hope is that Rockingham’s priority placed on education will mirror the overall objective and vision of Discovery Place KIDS. Discovery Place hopes to work in conjunction with the Richmond County schools to build an educational network.

The focus for the Huntersville Discovery Place Kids is on children from birth through second grade. The Rockingham one will cater to that group as well as some slightly older children. The Rockingham project won’t just focus on science, but will include programs on the arts, and perhaps theater and won’t be a “mirror” of the Huntersville location, officials say.

One of the reasons Discovery Place is looking at Rockingham is because it has a history of being fiscally responsible, according to John Mackay, president and CEO of Discovery Place.

“Discovery Place is eager to build an association between Rockingham and the Discovery Place label, and to engage the community in such a way that allows people to feel as though the museum is their’s,” he said in a meeting Monday. “More and more we realized the fact that as communities grow, they deserve, and need, the resources of facility at an affordable price.”

The children’s museum proposed for Rockingham will be different from the one in Huntersville based on the area’s demographics. The Rockingham children’s science museum will need to gear its exhibits to target a wider age-group than Huntersville’s, and admissions will be more affordable. Discovery Place KIDS sees itself as a catalyst for regional development, especially because of the potential travelers the area’s network of highways provides. The project could take as long as two years to complete, but a lot depends on funding, Mackay said. Discovery Place will be seeking donors, and the city will also been looking for grants to pay for purchasing and renovating the building.

The McKenzie Furniture building is about 21,000 square feet. The actual exhibit space will take up about 12,000 square feet of it, Mackay said.

McLaurin said the city has been working behind the scene for years.

“This is what happens when you have some continuity in city government,” he said. “This speaks well of the city staff under the leadership of City Manager Monty Crump and of course the city council.”

Though this project is not considered a “done deal,” the consensus is heightened enthusiasm.

“This will be good for the community. I’m very excited,” said Councilman John Hutchinson. The City Council recognizes how beneficial this will be for not only the city of Rockingham, but the whole region - particularly the opportunity to partner with Discovery Place while making Rockingham a destination. Councilman Gene Willard noted that Discovery Place’s standards are high, and choosing to accept the invitation to Rockingham speaks well for Rockingham’s citizens.

Dawn Kurry can be reached at dkurry@yourdailyjournal.com or by calling 997-3111 ext. 15.