Bee Inspired Discovery Center opens on west side

Bee Inspired

I’ve just been flying by the seat of my pants right now. I’m just trying to get it up and going so I’m not paying rent without having anything going. We’re a work in progress and we’ll be changing things as we go. It’s a different business concept, but that’s just who I am.”

Christa Bronnenberg, owner Bee Inspired Discovery Center

FORT MADISON – An innovate play area designed for children, and in some cases even adults, has opened on the city’s west side.
Bee Inspired Discovery Center, located at 2359 53^rd Street in Fort Madison, is a child-based creative center envisioned by Christa Bronnenberg, owner of Busy Bees Childcare.
Bronnenberg wanted to expand her childcare services in Lee County but said that effort wasn’t in the cards and became difficult to find funding for the expansion and operations. So she pivoted to the creative center which carries a honey bee theme and is modeled in some ways after the former Shug’s Tiny Town in downtown Fort Madison.
“That wasn’t working in my favor and I kept trying and kept trying and it wasn’t going where I wanted it to,” she said.
“When Shug's closed down, I thought we really needed something like that in this area. I took a little different approach.”
She said the discovery center is about bees and bee hives. Every six to eight weeks, she plans to switch things out in the space to keep things fresh and new.
Bronnenberg is a former preschool teacher and has four children so the inventory for creative options is strong.
She said they are starting smaller than she had anticipated but she wanted it to feel more homie and comfortable so they are starting smaller.
“I wanted this to feel like a living room where everyone could come, instead of a commercial space,” Bronnenberg said.
There is a couch in every room except one where there are more interactive play areas where parents could be more engaged with the students.
She did a survey prior to creating the space and people kept pointing to climbing structures. So her husband built a climbing area of out pallets outside the building.
The building is located behind Victory Faith Church on Ortho Road and has plenty of room for future expansion. Bronnenberg said hours are yet to be flushed out, but said those will be published on their Facebook page.
The bee theme comes from her parents who are commercial bee keepers and operate close to 5,000 colonies. Her husband operates about 500 of the colonies in southeast Iowa. He teaches during the school year, while she runs the day care and discovery center.
Bronnenberg said she has to keep an eppy pen with her and her son at all times when around bees. The discovery center is themed with honey bees, but doesn’t have any live bees on site.
“I’ve just been flying by the seat of my pants right now. I’m just trying to get it up and going so I’m not paying rent without having anything going. We’re a work in progress and we’ll be changing things as we go. It’s a different business concept, but that’s just who I am,” she said.
Rates will be $10 per child during the week and $12 on the weekend. She said she won’t be charging for adults to be in playing with children.
“That’s what we’ll start with and I’ve said there’s no limit on the age of play and there’s not, but these will be geared toward younger. I will have crafts for older kids and things like that.”