The Discovery Center has been closed this week for the BIG Clean! What is the BIG Clean? It's our chance to change exhibits, deep-clean the facility and conduct maintenance we can't do while the museum is open.

Keeping the museum clean and healthy is an everyday job done throughout the year. Museum exhibits are disinfected every night at close. All toys and equipment are continuously inspected for signs of damage and repaired or replaced as needed, but we make time for major projects during BIG Clean week.

All Discovery Center staff and dozens of volunteers pitched in this week to complete tasks. Volunteers from Junior League, Heritage Bank, the Topeka Community Foundation, and the Discovery Center volunteer group gave hundreds of hours to make this week a success. Heritage Bank volunteers cleaned the Grow exhibit.

Topeka Community Foundation volunteers cleaned program rooms and painted walls.

What happens during the BIG Clean? Every surface gets scrubbed, and most surfaces get painted. Refreshing our bright and colorful exhibits with paint took sixteen different colors!

Mats in the grain exhibit are picked up and all grain that has fallen below the platform is collected, the wind maze tubes are all individually disassembled and scrubbed clean.

Paint splatter is cleaned from the roof of the art pavilion (we have some very excited painters!), mats in the Infant Sensory Garden are removed so the garden can be thoroughly cleaned and painted and more.

High places are dusted and we find all the ping-pong balls that have been launched in the ceiling and on rooftops throughout the year (2020 BIG Clean ping-pong ball count: 18).

We also packed up and shipped out our Kenya's Kids exhibit, which has been with us since September. Stay tuned for our next exciting exhibit announcement!

The Discovery Cafe' has switched menus again! Kids can now make their favorite sandwiches.

Visitors might notice the museum floor is a little brighter when they return. We'll be using less energy, too! Museum track lights were all replaced with new LED fixtures this week.

After the BIG Clean, we'll start working on getting the facility messy again! Join us for our reopening on Saturday, January 11 for Messy STEAM Factory, a whole day of with messy science to get us back in the swing of things.

Thank you to all of our volunteers and staff for helping with the BIG Clean, and to our visitors for your flexibility this week!