San Diego Moms: Mom celebrates new exhibit at San Diego Discovery Children’s Museum

The San Diego Discovery Children’s Museum in Escondido recently unveiled its Water Ways exhibit where children can learn about conservation and the environment.

Through hands-on exploration, children can turn water valves on and off, launch balls into a water vortex, and experiment with dams. The new water table will also include Escondido landmarks such as Lake Hodges, Escondido Water Treatment Plant, City Hall, and more, allowing families to make a real-world connection on how clean drinking water is sourced from lakes and rivers and flows into cities to support communities. 

We spoke to Heather Disher, director of advancement at the museum and a mother, about what the new exhibit means for local children. 

SDCDM just opened the new Water Ways exhibit. As a mom, what do you hope your kids will take away from this exhibit? 

Raising kids, you’re always trying to find little life lessons or teachable moments. With this exhibit, I love that we can talk about where our water comes from and how precious a resource it is, especially for our region. My hope is that by interacting with this exhibit, my boys develop a deeper appreciation for conserving water and preserving our environment – lakes, rivers, mountains, all the places that give us the clean water that we drink and that comes out of our faucets every day.

How important are hands-on learning opportunities for you and your family? How does Water Ways help facilitate hands-on learning? 

What kid does not love playing in water?! They are all magnets for it! Being able to not just look, but get to touch, turn, push, and launch all the different levers and features that Water Ways provides is so engaging for our boys. There’s A LOT of energy between the two of them, so having experiences and places where they can get dirty and move their bodies, while also learning, is important to us. The Water Ways exhibit and the Museum provide this and so much more for them!

Water Ways references Escondido. What is it like for your kids to see an exhibit that represents their hometown?

We are a proud Escondido family through and through! Both my husband and I grew up here, I work in town, and we’re raising our family here. The landmarks featured are ones that they recognize and can provide a real-life connection to. We go on hikes around Dixon Lake, go on boat rides at Lake Hodges, and drive under the Escondido arch on our way into downtown for dinner! All these places are ones they can point to and say, “I’ve been there!”

What are you most excited about regarding the new Water Ways exhibit?

I love that every spot you stand in around the exhibit has a different experience to play with and accommodates every age. Even adults can’t resist launching a ball into the water vortex! It has varying heights and step stools too, so even a tiny toddler can put their hands in the water mushroom or float a boat down the rivers and streams. This is definitely our new favorite exhibit at the Museum!

Water Ways is one of the many ways San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum continues to provide engaging, hands-on experiences that inspire curiosity and learning. The Museum looks forward to welcoming families to explore, experiment, and make a splash while discovering the vital role water plays in our everyday lives. Water Ways is included with Museum admission.

For more information, go to sdcdm.org

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San Diego Moms is published on Saturdays. Have a story idea? Email hoaq@timesofsandiego.com and follow her on Instagram at @hoawritessd.