A San Luis Obispo County children’s museum and play space on the brink of closure was recently resurrected by an outpouring of community support.
In late October, the Exploration Discovery Center, on Ramona Ave. in Grover Beach, was struggling to keep its doors open after two months of extremely meager visitor attendance. Exploration Discovery Center creative manager Debra Ugalde said the center was facing severe financial challenges amid poor patron turnout and rising insurance costs. Robert Robert, vice president of the center’s board of directors, created a GoFundMe fundraising campaign as a last resort to save the community space.
As of Saturday, the fundraiser had raised more than $14,000. Ugalde said that after a few “guardian angel” sponsors contributed thousands of dollars to the effort, the center now has enough funds to stay open without any reduction in hours or cuts to staff for many months to come.
The Exploration Discovery Center, at 867 Ramona Ave. in Grover Beach, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission costs $5 for children ages 2 to 12, $15 for adults and $10 for seniors.
