A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village has over 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor activities

A.C Gilbert's Discovery Village is a discovery center with over 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor activities, three historic houses and a hand's on children's Museum. The center is in recognition of A.C. Gilbert who was an Olympic Gold Medalist in the pole vault, created the Erector Set and many other toys to combine fun and science for children to become interested in Science. The center is located at Riverfront Park in Salem Oregon. The center is a non profit organization that was founded in 1989 to provide stimulating educational experiences for children along with summer camps, birthday parties and science, art and humanity outreach programs.

The houses at the center are Gilbert House, which is a Queen Anne Victorian of Eastlake design and was purchased by the City of Salem as part of the Riverfront Development Project. The house is now part of the museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Parrish House is a two-storey wood frame house and was moved to the Riverfront in 1990 and is now part of the center exhibiting the life and inventions of A.C. Gilbert. Rockenfield House was originally located at the northeast corner of Court and Summer Street, the house was purchased by the state and moved to make an area for the State Library. Rockenfield House was moved to the center in 1991 and opened to the public in 1992.

The Little Gem Grocery store was built in 1925 and has a gabled roof that is hidden by an Italianate false front. The grocery store is now used as a food concession stand during different times of the year.

Many programs are offered to children at the center, these include the Preschool Program for children aged from 3 to 5. The 45 minute classes are tailored for the developmental and educational requirements of preschoolers and use hands-on learning techniques. Programs include the Humanities program where children will learn how pioneer children lived, learn to make butter or create a miniature slate. The Art program allows children to explore building with Clay, Frog Frenzy is full of fun frog facts and activities, they can learn about farming through stories and a counting book. In the Science program children will take part in a dinosaur dig and make their own fossil or learn all about butterflies and create a model of a butterfly's life cycle.

Upper elementary and middle school students will learn about the physics of toys such as why dominoes fall, what energy slinkys use or why roller coasters are so scary and fun.

The most famous attraction at the center is the Erector Set, this 52 foot high tower is used by children to build toys, complete the maze and ride down the three giant slides, even the one that is two stories high. The Erector Set is even used by architects and engineers to build models of structures and machines.

Visitors are able to walk around the miniature global village to view homes of people from all over the world. Or they could walk the Discovery Garden through raised beds and pathways, gardens include a vegetable, herb, native plants of the Pacific Northwest and annual gardens or enjoy the small pond.

The center is able to host birthday parties with packages available offering a different range of time sessions and items included in the package.