S1, E85: Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum, CEO - Kathleen Bodenlos
From Corporate Success to Museum Magic: How Kathleen Bodenlos Transformed Discovery Gateway Children's Museum
In a world where "success" often follows a predictable path, Kathleen Bodenlos's journey stands out as refreshingly authentic. As the CEO of Discovery Gateway Children's Museum at Gateway in Salt Lake City, Kathleen has led a remarkable transformation, taking a struggling institution from the brink of closure to an award-winning destination for families throughout Utah.
What makes Kathleen's story particularly compelling is how she walked away from a lucrative corporate career to pursue her passion for museums. "That was the weird part for me," she explains. "I thought success would make me fulfilled and it was not fulfilling." Despite enjoying her corporate work, something was missing. Ten years ago, she made the bold decision to follow her childhood dream of working at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh where she grew up, taking a significant pay cut and facing skepticism from friends who questioned her decision.
The risk paid off in ways beyond financial compensation. The moment Kathleen began her museum career, something shifted: "I didn't feel like I was working anymore," she shares. This sense of alignment and purpose carried her through positions at the Carnegie Museum, then to Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, before eventually landing in Salt Lake City to lead Discovery Gateway Children's Museum during its most challenging period.
When Kathleen arrived in Utah, the museum was struggling, largely due to COVID's devastating impact on high-touch, interactive facilities. Undaunted, she developed an ambitious 10-year renovation plan—only to accomplish it in just five years through strategic partnerships, corporate sponsorships, and community support. Under her leadership, the museum has unveiled spectacular new exhibits including an authentic dinosaur exhibit featuring real fossils, a 3,000-square-foot train installation worth over $3.5 million (donated by a couple who reached out via Instagram!), and a new Associated Foods tractor-trailer exhibit that teaches children about supply chains and food sources.
What drives Kathleen's passion isn't just creating beautiful spaces—it's watching the transformation that happens when children engage with them. "I will never tire of that," she says about walking through the museum and hearing children's excited reactions. "When I walk through those galleries and I hear kids just freaking out... they're over the moon." This dedication to creating moments of wonder extends to making the museum accessible to all families through programs like the Museum Inclusion Fund and Access for All, which provides reduced admission for families on public assistance.
Beyond the exhibits themselves, Kathleen understands something profound about children's museums: they foster crucial social skills that children need now more than ever after pandemic isolation. "One of the things that really happens in a children's museum is all the socialization," she explains. Parents frequently tell her how their children arrive with family but leave having made new friends, building social confidence in an unstructured environment.
Perhaps most importantly, Kathleen recognizes that children's museums aren't just for kids—they're for the adults who accompany them too. "We're trying to create exhibits that are not only fun for the kids, but it's super fun for the parents to be with the kids," she explains. This shared experience allows adults to reconnect with their own sense of wonder and creativity, qualities often diminished by the demands and stresses of everyday life.
As Discovery Gateway continues to evolve with plans for an Intermountain Healthcare exhibit focused on emotional wellbeing and what will become the largest children's rooftop garden in the country, Kathleen's journey reminds us that success isn't always found on the expected path. Sometimes, it's discovered by reconnecting with what brought us joy as children and finding ways to share that joy with others.
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