(L-R) Lorraine Borowski, Decorah Rotarian and Mayor, City of Decorah; Phil Iversen and Mike Huinker, Co-Presidents, Decorah Rotary Club; John Schroeher, Sunflower Board Member and Fundraising/Building Project Committee; Stephanie Fromm, Executive Director, Winneshiek County Development and Tourism and President, Sunflower Board of Directors; Holly Benda, Sunflower Executive DirectorRepresentatives from the Decorah Rotary Club and the Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center convened on Thursday, September 5 at 4 pm to celebrate the culmination of the 2024 Rotary project supporting the new Discovery Center facility. The Rotary Club’s additions to the Discovery Center include a large playhouse with balcony, a smaller “drive-through” playhouse, indoor safety perimeter fencing to delineate the toddler play area, and a K’nexTM Building Station incorporating a six-foot-tall Ferris wheel inherited by Sunflower from the former Donlon’s toy store in Decorah.
To bring the project to fruition the Decorah Rotary Club secured a grant from Rotary District 5970 and contributed its own matching funds to achieve the $10,000 needed for the project. This contribution was featured at the Thursday event in the presentation of a ceremonial check from the club. Rotary Club members also contributed nearly 250 hours of labor and all of the detailed design and construction expertise required for the project. Spahn and Rose Lumber in Decorah assisted Rotary by providing discounted raw materials.
The Sunflower Discovery Center, slated to open in October, will be an interactive children’s museum. It aligns with Goal #5 in the City of Decorah’s Iowa Great Places Vision Plan by creating a “Quality Gathering Space” for children and families, especially important given there are currently no such indoor play spaces in Decorah or Winneshiek County. The Discovery Center will have at least six themed Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Music, and Math (STEAM) learning centers. It will prioritize active learning through movement, exploration, and play, with indoor-age-appropriate playgrounds and active learning and exploration areas.
Our club extends its sincere thanks to the following organizations and individuals: Rotary District 5970 for supporting the club's district grant proposal; construction lead Rotarians Kent Klocke and Bruce Ventura without whom the success of the project would not have been possible; Rotary Sunflower Project committee members Larry Grimstad, Mike Huinker, Gary Mineart, Paul Mullen, Kathleen Ritner, Kelsey Vanney, and Bruce Ventura; Kelsey Vanney and her associate Rolf Peterson for the design inspiration behind the large playhouse; Rotarians Tina Hall, Phil Iversen, John Moeller, Diana Morrow, Jim Morrow, Paul Mullen, Uwe Rudolf, and Mark Swanson for their materials transportation and painting energy and expertise; and Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center Board of Directors and staff members Stephanie Fromm, John Schroeher, Holly Benda, Daiton Johnson, and Amy Winter for their spirit of cooperation, guidance, creativity, and willingness to share their valuable time with our team.
Photos of the entire "soup-to-nuts" construction process and dedication may be found in the companion album Rotary Sunflower Discovery Center Project.
Photo credit: Gary Mineart
---