STATE association -- An educational children's center that would legion hands-on exhibits and school field trips may be in the offing for the downtown.

STATE association -- An educational children's center that would legion hands-on exhibits and school field trips may be in the offing for the downtown.

In the past 18 month a cluster of about 50 community leaders and offers has quietly assembled to establish and exalt the nonprofit concept.

It's still in a formless formative stage, but organizers said Monday that they may have a facility lined up -- in the middle of the downtown -- within several month

"We want to make confident we have a viable business entity," said Todd Erdley a director of the modern group, Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania.

Mayor Bill Welch, an ex-officio director, said the idea stipes from discussions that began about five years ago. Back then, several parties floated the idea of consolidating a Penn State museums in the downtown.

More lately Welch said, discussion turned to a downtown exploratorium, then to