People came to Discovery World on Market Sunday for one last visit to Whoville to skate on the synthetic ice-skating rink as the final day of the season for the local attraction is today.

The Whoville Ice Rink was set up in the fourth-floor theater at the interactive children’s museum in downtown Parkersburg and has been open since Nov. 25, the first day of the Thanksgiving break for Wood County School, Discovery World Executive Director Wendy Shriver said. The theme this year was Whoville, based on the Dr. Seuss classic story, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Nadine Radabaugh and her husband of Pickerington, Ohio, brought their daughters Eloise, 10, and Madeline, 8, to the ice rink on Sunday.

The family was in the area visiting family in the Marietta area who came from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

Nadine said her grandfather, Lester Anderson, was a physics professor at Marietta College and was one of the people consulted with about a synthetic ice-skating rink in the area.

“He passed, but he would have been really excited for all his great-grandchildren to come to it,” she said. “He was a big supporter of it before it actually existed.

“It is wonderful, the whole Discovery World museum. The whole museum is a great addition.”

Her daughters were excited about the ice skating rink.

When asked what her favorite part of the museum was, Madeline pointed to the ice rink.

Eloise said she enjoys ice skating but there isn’t anyplace nearby to ice skate.

Today will be the last day for the rink this season and will be open from which 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Shriver said. The skating was brought back for the holidays as a $5 add-on ticket to general admission, she said.

As of Sunday afternoon, attendance for the season was 478, said Brady Shriver, assistant systems facility manager for Discovery World.

“That is very good as we have pretty much doubled our number from last year,” he said.

The rink was acquired by the city in 2020, primarily with contributions from the Ross Foundation, the primary force behind the development of Discovery World on Market. It was at the City Park Pavillion in the beginning and was moved to Discovery World last year after city officials did not believe they had personnel to available to run it.

Wendy Shriver thanked the City of Parkersburg for partnering with the museum “to bring this fun, winter amenity to the families in our community.”

She also thanked North Parkersburg Baptist Church for donating the Whoville village and sleigh and thanked Chet Griffey, the facilities manager, “for creating such a magical experience for the kids.”

The theater will be undergoing renovations in 2025, but Wendy Shriver said she hopes they will be able to bring it back next year.

“We would like to bring the ice-rink back next year and are working on a plan to incorporate it back onto the theater floor following the renovations to the theater,” she said. “The ice rink has been a wonderful addition to Discovery World on Market, giving families the opportunity to experience ice skating, many for the first time.”