Thirty years ago, Anne Golden had an idea, a dream, and zero dollars. Today, Discovery Depot Children’s Museum draws thousands of visitors a month and serves as a model for children’s museums across the country.
Golden, one of the museum’s founders, and Executive Director Denise Gerstenberger joined Tyler Gumm and Jay Redfern on Galesburg’s Morning News on Thursday, May 28. Listen to the full interview below.
Discovery Depot is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026. The museum’s mission — Inspiring Wonder and Excitement for Learning — has guided three decades of exhibits, programs, field trips, and community partnerships since the museum’s founding in 1996.
How it started
The museum’s origins trace back to a Leadership Greater Galesburg class project. Golden, who had come to Galesburg from the Chicago area to work as a teacher, proposed the idea after visiting children’s museums with her own children. Most people in the community didn’t know what a children’s museum was at the time — but those who did thought it was a good idea.
“You don’t get all yeses, especially when all you have is an idea,” Golden said. “But my wisdom is just to keep persevering.”
The founding board was made up primarily of educators. They funded the nonprofit filing fees out of their own pockets, wrote grants, and made the rounds to civic organizations and businesses across the community. Golden’s husband, a BNSF Railroad employee, helped the museum acquire a caboose as its first major exhibit piece.
The museum acquired its current building in 1998 for $60,000. The building has its own history — constructed in 1906 for the Gross Brothers overalls manufacturing company, it later became the Pioneer Creamery and then Meadow Gold Dairy before sitting vacant and serving as a paintball venue. The museum still preserves original features, including the old dairy counter, original creamery tile, and reclaimed wood from the freight elevator built into the second-floor design.
“My mother can remember getting ice cream cones there when she was a child,” Gerstenberger said. “We’ve kept a lot of the original character of the building.”
Growing up
The museum’s early years were defined by donated and homegrown exhibits — a real ambulance, fire truck, police car, and the caboose, along with a barn built by the Farm Bureau. In 2012, the board launched a capital campaign to professionally fabricate new exhibits. The first floor was renovated and reopened in 2013, and visitor numbers climbed significantly.
“We became competitive and really kind of in the museum world, we were then up to where Bettendorf was, or Rockford, or Bloomington-Normal,” Gerstenberger said. “That really was a big step forward for us.”
Today, other children’s museums visit Galesburg to study what Discovery Depot does. Gerstenberger says the museum’s community support is what makes it possible. In 2025, 1,635 volunteer hours were recorded through 963 volunteer opportunities, and field trips came from 57 different schools. The museum now has 24 staff members.
What’s inside today
The first floor is geared toward children six and under, centered around Ferris Junction Village. The second floor features STEM-focused exhibits and the popular Waves Room. Traveling exhibits have driven repeat visits and drawn visitors from outside the area.
A recent addition is Little Judy’s Cafe — a partnership with Judy’s Family Cafe, the Galesburg restaurant that went viral in August 2024 and has since accumulated close to one million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, with total views surpassing one billion. Children can engage in interactive pancake-making roleplay, and many already know exactly who Judy is. Gerstenberger says the partnership came together quickly and has been a hit with both kids and families.
The museum’s wall telephones in the village remain one of the most beloved features despite the prevalence of cell phones. Children regularly ask their parents to answer the phone from another extension.
More surprises are coming. Gerstenberger says a new addition to Ferris Junction Village is expected around the end of June, and the board is actively planning the museum’s next major chapter.
The 30th anniversary celebration
Discovery Depot marked the milestone with a reception last week at Innkeeper’s Fresh Roasted Coffee in Galesburg, attended by founders, supporters, and elected officials including Mayor Peter Schwartzman and representatives for State Rep. Dan Swanson and U.S. Congressman Eric Sorensen.
Golden summed up three decades in a single line: “An idea turned into an amazing reality, a dream continues to come true, and that passion for creative exploration and discovery still sparks curiosity for the next generation.”
Discovery Depot is located at 128 S. Chambers St., across from the Galesburg Amtrak Station. For more information or to plan a visit, go to discoverydepot.org.
