Changemakers is a column that highlights the work of local nonprofit organizations serving Athens County.
ATHENS, Ohio –As they do on many Thursday mornings, Emily Axe and her two-year-old daughter, Lylah, have just walked from their West Side home in Athens to the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery on Columbus Road. It’s Toddler Discovery Time at the museum, and Lylah is playing with magic sand, a coated sand that keeps the substance dry, allowing for creativity while supporting hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
There’s another mom with a toddler downstairs for this weekly program, and in the next room a small pool is still inflated from yesterday’s teen boat-building workshop. Upstairs, older children interact with the installations in the main exhibit hall: a climbing structure, pixel peg wall, wind tunnel, puppet theater, green screen, and more.
Axe especially appreciates the space when the weather is cold, wet, or even too hot.
“Having more accessible places for children of all ages, especially littles, is something Athens doesn’t have a lot of,” she said, “Having an indoor location that has creative things to do but also a climbing structure and slides is super helpful.”
Axe and her three children access the open play opportunities and the programming as well — Discovery Lab Makerspace programming and workshops, Make It-Take It Day programs where participants learn new skills and leave with something they created, Messy STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) Days and more.
And all of it is budget friendly for the family of five, particularly since the museum has discounted memberships available for families on WIC or EBT benefits programs.
“We are on WIC,” Axe said. “We would still get a family membership if we weren’t, but just the cost effectiveness … is really helpful for our budget.”
About 150 individuals or families have annual memberships, which run from $25 to $100, and about 500 people visit the hands-on museum every month. Daily admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and children and free for kids under 3. For anyone who needs incentive to give the museum a try, the Athens County Public Libraries have a few memberships that can be checked out for up to two weeks.
A museum space long in the making
Visitors who enter OVMoD are greeted by an exhibit hall with high ceilings — an architectural remnant of the former First Church of God, from which OVMoD purchased the building. This dedicated space is the culmination of decades of work and fundraising to bring the vision to fruition, including making it accessible for those with disabilities.
The Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery — minus the physical museum of today — started in 2006 with a handful of parents who came together to make a local children’s museum happen.
“They were passionate about bringing ‘big city’ experiences to kids in this area,” said Angela Marx, OVMoD executive director. Some of those same parents are still members of the museum’s board of directors, comprising people with impressive academic credentials; quite a few are faculty at Ohio University.
For the first several years, OVMoD was a “museum on wheels” that took STEAM programming to kids in schools and libraries. The libraries still host OVMoD programming. Last summer, the museum took architecture and engineering programs to libraries throughout the county, and this year OVMoD will take lessons in geology to the libraries.
Starting in 2011, OVMoD opened a space at The Market on State mall where families could visit a physical space to experience exhibits. But in the background, museum staff and board members were working on a capital campaign to establish a permanent home.
The Athens County Foundation helped OVMoD establish the capital campaign, which was in turn supported by major donors including the Joe Burrow Foundation and OhioHealth. In December 2023, OVMoD opened the doors of its permanent location.
Since then, programming has only grown.
The museum hosts elementary school field trips aligned with grade-level state learning goals. For kindergarteners, this means “Good Vibrations: Exploring the Science of Sound,” and for second graders, the curriculum is “Animals of Ohio: Endangered Creatures and Human Choices.”
Discovery Club is an after-school program for children in grades 4-6, and the museum offers summer camp programming. The 2026 Discovery Fest will take place June 6 at the museum. Discovery Fest is a family-friendly outdoor festival featuring fun hands-on activities, crafts, food vendors, children’s performers, and music and dance.
“Our mission is to inspire confidence in people of all ages to explore and discover the world,” Marx said. To that end, OVMoD now offers adult programming in the form of a speaker series. Past topics have included space exploration, dog training and landscaping for birds. Programming for all ages often revolves around a monthly theme.
Marx wants to make sure everyone in Athens County and the region gives the museum a try.
“I think that once people come and check it out, they become regulars,” she said. “I work the exhibit hall quite a bit myself. It’s always fun to hear ‘I didn’t even know this place existed. This is awesome.’”
For museum hours, volunteer opportunities (like becoming a guest speaker) or to make a donation (such as an annual family membership gift), go to ovmod.org.
