WHEELING — It was 15 years ago this week the Smart Center Market first opened its doors, dinosaurs and science toys to the public, and now it’s time for a celebration.

And yes, it’s going to happen on “Tax Day.”

The Smart Centre opened on April 15, 2015, and a number of events are planned there today to celebrate 15 years in business.

Owners Robert and Elizabeth Strong will host their third “charrette” — a meeting of like-minded people — on Tuesday evening to discuss the further development of exhibits on the second floor. Proposed themes for the three exhibits are “Sound,” “Light” and “Mechanics and Motion.”

The meeting will take place from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the second floor, and those invited to participate are “stakeholders” — parents, teachers, students, community members and business owners. These are people who are expected to be users of the facility, Elizabeth Strong explained.

On the second floor there presently are temporary attractions — such as a Slinky playground, where visitors are challenged to lay wooden blocks so the Slinky appears to “walk” down from the top of the arranged blocks.

There is a color-mixing project, where participants can mix blue, red, green and yellow light.

A third exhibit is a sound exhibit using Chandni Plates, sand, and frequency to create resonating patterns.

Strong expects some of the exhibits suggested for the second floor may expand upon these offerings.

The Smart Centre Market now is almost as much an antique store as it is a celebration of scientific discovery.

After operating in Centre Market for many years, the store officially opened at a new location at 1410 Main St. last year. The building there previously served as home for the Goodwin Drug Company warehouse distributor for nearly a century.

At its peak, the company — which closed in 2017 — was the largest drug firm in all of West Virginia. It sold the items sold in corner drug stores, and examples of many of those items the Smarts found when they purchased the building.

Some are even for sale, including packaged pieces of Hazel Bishop lipsticks and powders made in the 1940s; Black Diamond banjo strings; and Polaroid sunglasses from the 1960s.

Strong said a group of young customers recently walked in and were astounded after finding the sunglasses. In the end, they walked out after purchasing five pairs.

The store will offer a 15% discount to customers spending more than $15 there on Tuesday.

The original wood shelving still remains in the building, as do some of the antique tables used by the distributor. On them are antique jars of such everyday items as Listerine, baby powder or bicarbonate soda.

The Strongs added their own touches, bringing their collection of dinosaur displays and such items as Strong’s childhood “Brownie” camera.

Science-related toys are still a staple, and do line the antique wood shelves. The Strongs — who both have extensive backgrounds as science educators — also still do science demonstrations for children on Saturday afternoons.

And one area of the store is set up as a retro ice cream shop where visitors can purchase locally-made Kirke’s ice cream.

“We always wanted to make this a destination place that would bring people here, or provide a place for people to meet in Wheeling,” Strong said.

“Hardly anybody is grumpy. Most everyone who comes in is really nice.”

Sierra Bunfill and her young sons Jacob and Jackson Ryan recently made the drive in from Barnesville specifically to see the Smart Centre. It was their first visit.

“We homeschool, and we’re always looking for new things to do,” Bunfill said. “He (Jacob) is obsessed with dinosaurs, and we thought we would come here.”

The boys visited and interacted with the displays before choosing a few items to take home.

Strong said the store often plays host to local student groups, and she plans to reach out in the future to bring in more youngsters to explore.