As a new addition to downtown St. Joseph, Missouri, inspireU is a state-of-the-art facility
dedicated to fostering physical health, mental wellness, and educational enrichment.
Created for families with children ages Birth to 10, this discovery center is designed around
five key themes: Movement, Nutrition, Mindfulness, Curiosity, and Connection. Features include
a two-story climber, (#of gallons of water) water table, and accessibility to all abilities and
ages.
Who is inspireU?
inspireU is a development led by Mosaic Life Care Foundation in collaboration with community leaders and stakeholders. Mosaic Life Care Foundation is a 501(c) charitable organization supporting Mosaic Life Care, with the mission of building healthy, thriving communities for generations to come. MLCF is committed to finding long-term solutions aimed at creating better health for our 30-county region, which includes northwest Missouri and adjacent counties in Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. Located in Buchanan County, St. Joseph, Missouri, the Foundation takes a leading role in pioneering community revitalization efforts to improve the health and quality of life for those who live in the region. The Discovery Center is a long-term comprehensive population health strategy to increase vulnerable populations’ access to medical or public health services, increase general public preventative health knowledge, and connect disproportionally impacted individuals with mental health/physical health regional community resources.
This 35,000 square foot facility features over 20 core exhibits, a rooftop exploratorium, interactive play areas, and educational spaces aimed at children ages birth to 10. Through interactive exhibits, educational content throughout the discovery center, meaningful programs and camps, and relevant merchandise from the gift shop, both adults and children learn how they can be healthy today, healthy tomorrow, and become healthy together.
In 2019, Mosaic Life Care Foundation gathered stakeholders from Mosaic Life Care, the St. Joseph community and the greater northwest Missouri region got together to provide input on strategic positioning for the Foundation. Through these discussions, themes of leadership development, early childhood education, and community vitality emerged. The Foundation’s Fund Development committee began vetting potential opportunities to further support their mission and cultivate additional funding streams. Six possible opportunities were considered, but there was overwhelming support from the committee for The Children’s Discovery Center.
Why inspireU?
With a mission of championing education and empowering people through our partnership with Mosaic Health System, Mosaic Life Care Foundation is committed to building healthy, thriving communities for generations to come. We believe in championing education and empowering people to live their best lives. When healthcare is needed, we are dedicated to ensuring exceptional healthcare is available, right in the region we serve.
To develop and sustain a healthy community, inspireU Children’s Discovery Center is a catalyst to unite the community around a healthier lifestyle for individuals of all ages and to address key health and wellness trends identified in the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). These trends include rising mental health challenges among youth, concerns around physical health behaviors, and the need for increased engagement among young families.
Currently, there is no pertinent program or service that addresses early intervention and health disparities for families ages Birth – 10. InspireU is a place for kids and adults alike to engage in evidence-based, hands-on activities that spark imagination, encourage peer engagement, enhance creativity, develop problem-solving skills, and teach the basics of health and wellness. Program activities include field trips, daily programs, camps and family and young adult experiences that focus on a healthy mind, body, and community through nutrition, physical and mental health exercise, imaginative play, peer engagement and social awareness experiences.
Born out of the vision of creating something that was interactive and fun but was very intentional around teaching young families simple ways they can be healthy together, With four unique floors of exploration, each of the over 20 exhibits incorporate five themes: movement, nutrition, mindfulness, curiosity, and connection.
Movement
At inspireU, we want to encourage movement for children of every ability. Our discovery center features ADA accessible areas throughout the facility, including an instrument garden on the rooftop and an ADA accessible catwalk throughout our one and a half story climber!
Speaking of our climber, it features a slide, tunnels, activity pods, stairs to climb, …many opportunities for children to get up and move and have fun while doing it. In addition to the one and a half story climber, inspireU has three additional climbers located on the second floor and rooftop for kids to jump, climb, and play. We make it really easy for kids to get up and move and enjoy physical activity!
Nutrition
With regards to nutrition, we have created areas that encourage all of us to eat more fresh and healthy foods. Long-term health/lifetime health is made up of things beyond healthcare. It is made up of things that are lifestyle oriented. If we develop good healthy habits early on, we can help determine a positive path of health for our entire life.
Four areas on the discovery center’s second floor focus primarily on nutrition, how families can make connections with their food choices, and learning about what products come from
right here in our region. The farm exhibit features an interactive barn silo, crops, and farm animals. Once visitors have harvested the crops and gathered eggs from the chickens in the barn, they can sell their products in the farmer’s market, shop for “sometime” and “anytime” groceries in the grocery store and prepare foods with a rainbow of offerings in the cafe.
The food we choose truly does make a difference and healthy food creates a happy mood!
Mindfulness
Our third theme woven throughout inspireU exhibits is mindfulness, which we define as being present and enjoying the world around us. Once each of us grasps the ability to self-regulate and work through challenges, we are better prepared to reduce stress, improve focus and experience emotional well-being.
We want to encourage mindfulness and help parents and children be able to recognize what they are feeling and find ways to create good mental habits that help find calm. Each of us needs to think about our mental health like we do our physical health. Those habits that we develop early in our lifetime drive our health for our entire lifetime. We recognize this in physical health. We know that the eating habits we develop, the exercise habits we develop, last a lifetime. Our mental health habits develop the exact same way.
We have partnered with Kulture City, the world’s leading nonprofit on sensory accessibility
and acceptance to have sensory bags families can borrow when they visit, and three quiet rooms dedicated to lowering sensory input. The sensory bags include noise cancelling headphones and tactile tools. The quiet room environments have low lighting, soft furniture and signage with breathing exercises that help calm the mind, reduce stress and create self-awareness. In addition to these designated areas, inspireU features a rooftop experience and a Messy Room art space that both promote mindful creativity and deep engagement as well as many more activities that help encourage mindful learning opportunities.
Curiosity
The fourth theme is curiosity. InspireU encourages our visitors to open their minds to explore and learn while providing a controlled environment for children to have free reign to do things they want to do. Our discovery center provides good ways for children to learn things they could not learn in other ways.
InspireU takes kids and families back to a space where playing and learning is about communication, teamwork, and problem-solving in very simple ways with the simplicity that we know a parent, or an adult could pick up that experience and easily duplicate when they got home.
Our interests and how we think about curiosity goes beyond the child experience at inspireU. We believe that curiosity is equally about the adult attending with their children. Throughout the facility, workforce, jobs, and how to further education are highlighted within the exhibit areas. While families are playing, older children and adults can be inspired to think about an extension of their employment or maybe try something new.
Connection
Our last theme is connection, and we hope that InspireU helps foster connections between children, their families, as well as with their local community.
The majority of the space within our discovery center is built for play – the work of young children. It is about their connections with each other, learning to solve problems together, learning to connect with each other and learning to face challenges together in a safe environment.
A feature of our Creation Station, where children can make their own inspired creations or follow simple project instructions, is a dedicated Maker Space. The Maker Space showcases makers from around the region, demonstrating their art and their craft to inspire the next generation of makers. From 3D design to cross stitch, from laser art to sewing and quilting, our Maker Space is a unique setting that encourages creativity by connecting visitors with the makers.
The 3rd floor of inspireU is dedicated to connection within the community. This event rental area is a private space that families, corporations, and organizations can rent for their special occasions while enjoying all the amenities inspireU has to offer.
Visit inspireU Children’s Discovery Center in St. Joseph
This site has quickly become one of the best things to do in St. Joseph for kids and their families. With a focus on health, wellness, and community, this discovery center is a true hallmark of a healthy community. It is regionally relevant and contextual and is a significant demonstration to the power of partnership within a community. Whether you’re looking for an afternoon outing, family membership, a school field trip, or a place to host a corporate event or private party, InspireU welcomes you and your loved ones to Downtown St. Joseph.
