Celebration of Chocolate Month is specially dedicated to celebrating the tasty goodness that is chocolate. So tell us, where do you get your local chocolate?

Celebration of Chocolate Month is specially dedicated to celebrating the tasty goodness that is chocolate. So tell us, where do you get your local chocolate?

It’s time for a road trip, and it’s an easy drive to this pint-sized city! Take the family to Discovery Town…a temporary exhibit at Discovery Center Museum where children play as they learn about the people and places that make up a community. The exhibition opens February 11 and runs through May 29. Discovery Center created this temporary exhibit several years ago and is bringing it back due to popular demand.

Discovery Town is a friendly little town with a focus on fun! Each stop on the trip through this mini city provides opportunities for children to try out adult roles through role play. This cityscape created just for kids offers a collection of storefronts where our youngest citizens are the shopkeepers and customers. Children have the freedom to safely explore, discover, and learn through creative and imaginative play in a pint-sized community.

While in Discovery Town, children can explore a variety of settings:

• Vet Clinic: Give your furry friend a checkup. Then make your pet pretty at the grooming table!
• Theater: Dress in costume and give a performance worthy of a Tony award.
• Post Office: Sort the mail, fill your bag, and deliver letters all over town!
• Airport: Sort and load packages, fire up the engine, and pilot your way to…anywhere!
• Pizza Shop: Take an order, then prepare, bake and serve up some pizza!
• Fire Station: Answer emergency calls, suit up in firefighter gear, drive the fire truck and then battle a blaze!
• Classroom: Be the teacher or the student and enjoy school-themed activities.
• Town Park: Enjoy outdoor games in this big green space, and take a spin on the sock skating rink.
• Town Zoo: Check out the giant giraffe, lion, zebra and monkey.

“Children explore and learn about the world around them through role play,” explains Sarah Wolf, executive director at Discovery Center. While not all children decide so early, it’s fundamental to children’s development for them to understand their potential and their options, and to see themselves in different roles.

Discovery Town is sponsored in part by Associated Bank, Smith Charitable Foundation and JL Clark. Admission to Discovery Center and the Discovery Town exhibit is $11 for the public and free to museum members.

In case you missed it, Thai Hut is now reopened for dine-in! This Rockford staple has been on our list to try for a while, and we were thrilled to join them in person.

One does not simply go to Thai Hut and not order an appetizer… or two. We started with the Pot Stickers and Crab Rangoons. The Potstickers were absolutely delicious and came with a special sauce with a thick consistency. The sauce added that bold flavor profile and being thick didn’t leave a drip trail across your plate. The Crab Rangoons are savory and served with a delicious sweet and sour sauce. These will definitely be on the regular rotation for us!

On to the entrees! We ordered Thai Hut’s Special Combo, an incredible stir-fried combination of chicken, shrimp, and imitation crab with mixed vegetables and cashew nuts. Served with a side of rice, this delicious stir fry is cooked in their house sauce and deserving of the name Thai Hut Special. This mouth-watering entree is going to keep you coming back for more. The mix of proteins kept the flavors fresh and exciting. The sauce truly makes this dish!  

Drunken Noodle was next, your choice of meat stir-fried with rice noodles, tomatoes, onions, eggs, peppers, bean sprouts, and basil. We decided to add pork to this dish and I’m glad we did! The thick rice noodle was unique and fun, and the colors in this dish were bright and fresh. The veggies were stir-fried to maintain their crisp texture, and the heat really popped on this one. No worries, you choose your level of spice. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure meal!

The service was phenomenal, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was great! Be sure to stop in for lunch or dinner soon!