Alumni Profile: Pokey Crocker '87, MA '5

Discovering a passion

As you walk in you might be surprised to find children driving a fire truck, performing an operation or putting money in a bank safe. But scenes like these come as no surprise to Pokey Crocker '87, MA '95, the executive director of the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier.

Since 1989, Crocker has filled her days with fundraising, finger paints and fun at the Discovery Center, a job that she describes as low stress, and the key to keeping herself young.

A native of Binghamton, she came into the world on a rainy night. In fact, her family was the last to cross the Washington Street Bridge before it was closed due to flooding. She moved as a college sophomore to Kenyon College to be with her new husband. Since Kenyon was a men's college, she was unable to attend classes, but filled her days with meeting people, performing and soaking up life in the college town.

She returned to Binghamton a new mother and a widow after losing her husband in a tragic carbon monoxide accident, and her mother suggested that she join the Junior League, a community-centered volunteer organization. Here Crocker spent 20 years learning about volunteering. She also remarried and continued building her family.

The docent program at the Roberson Center moved Crocker toward more scholarly volunteer pursuits and she spent the next eight years as the volunteer coordinator and the assistant director of education. These experiences gave her the background and credentials she needed to take on the executive director position at the Tioga County Council on the Arts in 1986.

Crocker loves to talk about how her positions helped her to build spirit for the arts in the community, but it seems that all of these achievements were all directed toward one purpose – one appointment that would forever change the educational opportunities for children in the Southern Tier.

Crocker was asked to look at a new children's museum, the Discovery Center. She offered to donate an hour of her time to review and comment on the framework for the organizational plan. Although the exhibits centered on a giant cardboard elephant in the middle of a large room, Crocker saw the potential and stayed.

She became the executive director of the museum in March 1989 and continues to pour her love and spirit into the museum to this day.

From the traveling dinosaur exhibit complete with robotic dinosaurs in realistic habitats, to the airplane cockpit and to the bubble room, the museum continues to grow and change, with the purpose to educate and delight children of all ages.

And just when you think that she's done it all, Crocker comes up with a new idea. In 2004 the Discovery Center presented the work of Jan Brett in an oversized forum that allows children the experience of taking part in a number of life-sized stories. This one-of-a-kind exhibit will travel to other museums in 2006, but for now showcases the dedication and ability of the Discovery Center staff.

Crocker's plate is always full. As she talks about the future of the Discovery Center, her eyes shine brightly. As for retirement, she's sure that it's coming, she's just not sure when. As long as there are grants to write, ideas to explore and fun to be had, Pokey Crocker will be there.