“Unveiling the Discovery Room: A Gateway to Exciting and Interactive Student Learning”

WORTHINGTON — A pupil waits attentively behind Prairie Elementary second grade instructor Kris Doeden as she concludes a discussion before gently tapping her teacher and querying, “Would you like a coffee?”

The pupil raises a to-go holder of four “coffees” — vacant blue paper cups each topped with a brown lid — to Doeden. She selects one remarkably and expresses her gratitude to the student, who scurries off to seek others in need of a drink.

“They’re having so much enjoyment, they don’t even realize they’re learning,” remarked Doeden following the interaction.

She, alongside several other ISD 518 educators, is a passionate advocate and co-creator of Prairie Elementary’s Discovery Room, an immersive learning experience for students in the school to relish.

The size of an average classroom, the Discovery Room transforms through various themes during the school year to sustain children’s engagement and, more critically, to continue their education.

Currently, the room’s theme is titled “Our Town” and includes everything from a grocery store to a beauty parlor, footwear shop, gardening center, medical center, pizzeria, and a coffee shop, where the student offered Doeden a drink.

Tim Middagh / The Globe

Prairie Elementary is set to host an open house for the Discovery Room for students, staff, school board members, and parents from 4 to 7 p.m. Jan. 27 to showcase what students can experience in the room.

Certain students enjoy stocking shelves or operating the cash register at the grocery store. Others prefer styling hair at the salon or diagnosing a classmate at the medical center.

“The educators have concepts of what they desire to see, and I just sort of build upon that,” stated Bonnie Beeman. “We’ve constructed everything from a life-sized baby elephant to a camel for our circus.”

Beeman, affectionately known as “Grandma Bonnie” to students and staff, is a retired teacher from Worthington’s Headstart program. She was searching for a way to occupy her time post-retirement and discovered there was a need for assistance with Prairie Elementary’s Discovery Room.

That was three years prior, and although she did not foresee such an extended duration, she is delighted to undertake the role. Beeman has her own space at the school, referred to as the “Creation Station.” It is brimming with life-size cardboard cutouts, textiles, and much more that constitute the Discovery Room’s themes, which have included a circus, fairytales, pirate ships, and a Native American tribal village, among others.

Showing it off, Beeman humorously remarks, “Even the janitors won’t enter here to change the lights.”

Beeman estimates that overall, from setup to dismantling, it takes roughly three months for each theme of the Discovery Room to be assembled. As per her, the current theme of “Our Town” has remained up longer than usual at approximately 2.5 months.

Both Doeden and Beeman offer high praise to Worthington High School senior Claire Spartz, who volunteered innumerable hours designing, creating, and arranging items in the Discovery Room. She devotes three hours each weekday assisting. When it’s time to change themes, she and Beeman spend a Saturday disassembling the room and moving supplies back and forth, all to prepare for Monday morning for students.

Spartz, who intends to pursue marketing and communications in college, mentioned she was recruited by a family friend three years ago to assist with the room.

Tim Middagh / The Globe

“They asked if I wanted to help, and I replied ‘Absolutely,’” said Spartz. “Sounded like fun.”

She gestures towards a few items in “Our Town” that she crafted, including two enormous A & W mugs in the pizzeria with foam spilling over the top.

“I blended baking soda and paint, and it really holds up. You can touch it and feel the texture,” said Spartz.

Doeden is extremely thankful for the time, effort, and commitment both Spartz and Beeman dedicate to the Discovery Room, referring to them as “essential” to what the room is and what it can provide for students.

“We couldn’t accomplish this without Bonnie and Claire,” remarked Doeden. “We’re the idea factory, we create the lessons that accompany it, but they make all this materialize.”

Students from every grade at Prairie Elementary access the Discovery Room as their classroom schedules allow, divided into 30-minute segments throughout the week.

According to Doeden, the more experiential learning provided to younger students, the more beneficial it is. Moreover, being in a rural setting like Worthington, for some pupils, this might be the nearest they could experience a children’s museum. The Discovery Room also accommodates diverse forms of play, as all grade levels engage in play — and learning — in different manners.

“We always strive to design the Discovery Room in a manner that aligns with Minnesota (Department of Education) state standards,” Doeden stated.

For instance, for the Native American village theme, the tribes depicted were based on the Lakota and Ojibwe, which are situated in the South Dakota/Northern Great Lakes areas. According to Doeden, this is a criterion issued by the MDE, yet has minimal curriculum established for.

The extent of external resources the Discovery Room receives amazes Doeden. While she mentions that Beeman and Spartz are exceptionally proficient at reusing and recycling materials and supplies, donations are always appreciated, as the majority of the room is operated on acquired grants and funding from the science and social studies departments.

Tim Middagh / The Globe

The Discovery Room has received contributions and borrowed items from local enterprises such as Brown’s Shoe Fit, Bioverse Inc. and Runnings. For the “Our Town” grocery store, staff gathered and donated empty food/household items to be utilized in the room.

Next autumn, the Discovery Room theme is set to be “Under the Sea,” which is an idea Doeden, Beeman, and Spartz are all thrilled about.

“No one is ever bored in here,” remarked Doeden. “It’s been fantastic…the learning is so organic and this enables them to have enjoyment.”