Sara Brentrup

About 10 years ago, Sara Brentrup had proposed a children’s discovery center during a community group’s brainstorming for ways to address Minot’s needs.

Not only was her vision realized, but Brentrup this month was named education director for the Magic City Discovery Center. As one of the people in 2013 who sparked the idea of bringing a children’s museum to Minot, she now is generating additional ideas for ways the new center can bring science, technology, engineering, art and math education to youth.

“Writing engaging curriculum is just a really big passion of mine, and this position offers a lot of opportunity for me to write new curriculum,” she said. “We’re going to start doing some monthly activities free here at the museum for both toddlers and preschoolers. Then I’m also able to write curriculum for us to take out into the community, into schools and to pop-up events, and just kind of engage children and show them all the cool things about STEAM and how they relate to basically everything in our lives.”

Among her goals are rolling out children’s story times and new summer classes and camps. She wants to create learning experiences that come in many forms, allowing children to grab onto new lessons no matter their learning styles.

“I love that Sara had the idea to bring a children’s museum to Minot over 10 years ago and now she works here. We are thrilled to have her join our team,” said Wendy Keller, executive director at Magic City Discovery Center.

Brentrup said her original vision for a discovery center in Minot came from traveling with her husband and children to other cities and visiting children’s museums in those places.

“I was really passionate about seeing one in our community, knowing it was a need we could fill. We have a lot of young families in our town, and especially with the air base here,” she said.

She took a step back, though, because of other demands in her life. Brentrup, a Minot native with five children, owned and operated Children’s Garden Preschool for 19 years with her husband, Shaun. She holds a degree in early childhood education from Mayville State University.

The position as education director at the discovery center re-ignites her passion for the idea generated 10 years ago. Brentrup will be transitioning to full-time hours at Magic City Discovery Center over the next couple of months.