“Summer was busier than I anticipated. That was a surprise to me,” said Wendy Keller, executive director for the discovery center. Assuming that outdoor activities would overshadow indoor activities at that time of year, center staff were unexpectedly running to keep up with about 40,000 visitors as of the end of August.

The discovery center’s grand opening was May 5, although a soft opening for charter members began in late April. The center has attracted visitors from Montana, Minnesota and Saskatchewan as well as from different parts of North Dakota. Visitors regularly come from as far as Williston, Devils Lake or Bismarck.

The visitor pace slowed once school was back in session, although activity has picked up in October and November with mid-week school field trips, Keller said. The center can handle up to six schools a week.

Schools are encouraged to plan visits outside the traditional April and May timeframe for field trips because those limited slots book up quickly.

The Magic City Discovery Center, shown in this photo by Amdak Productions after its official opening in May, has had more than 51,000 visitors pass through its doors so far this year.

“We’re trying to really encourage people to book now,” Keller said. “If people want to get in their field trip, we just really want to make sure that they are trying to book early.”

All visitors are encouraged to pre-order admission, especially for weekend visits, to avoid potentially being turned away. The center has set its capacity at about 200 visitors to avoid crowding that leads to wait times for exhibits. The center is closed Mondays.

Discovery center staff continue to offer classroom visits, too.

“Just because we opened here, that doesn’t mean we’re discontinuing our outreach efforts. We’re keeping that, of course,” Keller said. “We’ll do some programming here in the center – mini-camps, classes and events.”

The discovery center will host its annual New Year’s Eve celebration on Dec. 31. In addition to offering the noon balloon drop, Keller said, staff plan to offer unique activities and fun learning experiences at stations to be set up in the building.

Renny Lorie looks out from coiled tubing that makes up part of the Magic City Climber in the Magic City Discovery Center. Renny, a student at North Plains Elementary, visited the discovery center on a field trip Wednesday.

Special events are held throughout the year for individuals and families with memberships. The center is working to fully roll out corporate memberships, which enable a business to purchase a membership with passes that employees can use with their families.

The center also has begun offering sensory-friendly events for children who need a quieter environment.

“Another thing that we’re really focusing on now is birthday parties,” Keller said. “We just really started them in July.”

The center is able to host up to five parties per weekend and can provide pizza through a relationship with a local pizza parlor.

The center also books field trips for childcare facilities and homeschool groups.

North Plains Elementary student Jordan Camp sets a slinky into motion at an activity station in Magic City Discovery Center Wednesday.

“One of the newer things that I’m pretty excited about is we are getting some senior citizen groups, and I love that because there’s a little bit of a misconception that it’s really just for tiny, little children,” Keller said. “Really, adults can have fun there too.”

In the spring, the center intends to promote more date nights, she said. Plans are to organize food trucks and provide a play day for adults, with or without children. There also are plans to increase utilization of the rooftop facilities for more events.

“We just tried to start simple this year, but we’re definitely making plans to add more,” marketing coordinator Maren Vangsness said of programming at the center. Keller and Vangsness said the community can expect more programming in 2024.

“We do have 11 full-time staff now and that was a bit of a surprise. We were not planning for that many, but with just the amount of visitors that we’ve had and the success, it’s a lot of work to run the whole place,” Keller said, citing the education activities, maintenance and cleaning required.

The center also has a number of part-time staff and plans to launch a formal volunteer program soon. Volunteers would help run events and assist visitors during the busier times at the center.

Also, plans are to construct outside interactive exhibits along a “magic pathway” on the south side of the facility in 2024. The pathway would be open to the public regardless of whether the center is open.

On the north side of the center, the Minot Park District has property it wants to someday develop into Overlook Park. Concept ideas include a splash pad, T-ball field, playground, picnic tables and amphitheater.