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Declining foot traffic at its namesake mall left Discovery Gateway unable to avoid red ink last fiscal year.
But the loss was less than the year before, noted new chief executive Laurie Hopkins, assuring the Salt Lake County Council that the children's museum in the west downtown Salt Lake City mall is headed in the right direction.
"I'm glad we had a smaller loss," Hopkins told the council last week, citing a $97,000 loss for the just-completed fiscal year, an improvement from the $162,000 setback a year earlier.
"But we don't want any," she added. "That's why I'm here: to turn that around. The staff is making a commitment to turn it around. We don't want to do more cuts because that would be getting into the way of operations."
Tell the Tribune: • How can Discovery Gateway children's museum draw more kids?
Several council members nodded in agreement as Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said she believed Hopkins was the right person to invigorate Discovery Gateway, which occupies a multiple-story, county-owned building at 444 W. 100 South.
"She has what's needed to get this organization through bumps in the road — [the impacts of] the recession and the changing nature of Gateway [mall]," Wilson said. "I'm confident she'll do well and deserves our support."
Hopkins became Discover Gateway's executive director and CEO on July 6 after spending nine years at the Sundance Institute, the last three as its co-managing director overseeing administration, short- and long-term planning, budgeting and legal issues.
She has a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of Redlands in California and a master's degree in international studies, with an emphasis on economics, from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.
Hopkins said the persistent decline of The Gateway, starting with the Great Recession but becoming more pronounced since the opening of City Creek Center, certainly has made it hard for Discovery Gateway to attract the desired number of walk-up visitors.
She estimated foot traffic in Discovery Gateway's area of the mall is down 15 to 20 percent in recent years. "That's significant walking erosion," Hopkins said.
The outdoor mall has a growing number of vacant storefronts and recently put up an out-of-order sign on its popular fountain in the Olympic Legacy Plaza.
Even so, Hopkins said, it's up to the children's museum to come up with imaginative programming that will attract people.
"If we have good programs," Hopkins said, "it won't matter where we're located."
To turn around the operation, she said, she has been building a "bright new staff, a small leadership team" that will work cohesively — "good minds thinking together" — to develop and implement a three-year plan to upgrade exhibits and general facilities.
Hopkins wants to increase the museum's educational programming, but the exact nature of that curriculum remains to be seen. Discovery Gateway's board is trying to determine whether to try to find ways to attract more 10- to 13-year-olds, who were part of the original target audience, or to focus on the age group that has been its biggest draw: the infant to 9-year-old crowd.
Hopkins also intends to upgrade the museum's website into more of an "early learning portal," to make it easier for people to become museum members, to secure more fundraising support from the board, and to boost community partnerships.
"We want to capture more destination visitors," she said, "increase member retention and take advantage of the opportunity to reach into underserved communities."
As of Friday, Discovery Gateway had received 69 comments on its TripAdvisor review. Of those, 31 said the museum was excellent, 19 said very good, seven rated their experience as poor, and four said it was horrible.
One called the museum "absolutely brilliant for years 2-8," while another fan said "we loved this museum. It's a very laid-back style. Kids get to roam around and play around without being constantly asked to stay within arm's reach with their parents like what we are used to at the Las Vegas Children's Museum. Exhibits are well designed for young kids to explore by themselves."
But not all were so kind.
"Too expensive and needs an update bad," said another reviewer. "Most of the games, or however you call it, are broken and not clean. The staff is not friendly and the whole area around is trashy."
Discovery Gateway will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2017. It was formed in 1977 as The Children's Museum of Utah and moved into the newly constructed 60,000-square-foot county facility in 2006.