TYLER, Texas — The common question of "where do we go from here" is what many non-profits, businesses, individuals, and families face each day since coronavirus changed all of our lives.
But for an interactive, hands-on nonprofit business like the Discovery Science Place in Tyler, staying afloat this past year has been challenging.
Monica Moore, the interim executive director of Discovery Science Place, says COVID-19 concerns took over last year just as they were entering into its peak season.
“It is really from March to August that we’re able to make our money so we can run for the entire year," she said. "Well as you know, March 16, March 17 the world shut down so literally, everything stopped here.”
Now, almost a year later it's hard to call things normal but following several months with doors shut the science center is open with new protocols in place.
“When we did open we started opening on a limited basis, limited capacity which was Tuesday through Sunday, ten to noon, then one to three, with very few visitors at one time so we could keep everyone spread apart," Moore said.
This week, the science center has been kind enough to allow our CBS19 weather team to share experiments with visitors during spring break and to thank them for their efforts in keeping the museum available to the community despite these challenges.
CBS19 and TEGNA Foundation donated $5,000 to Discovery Science Place.
“We have a fantastic board and wonderful donors and we really appreciate their hard work and efforts to keep us up and running," she said.