Loretta Yajima remembers a time two decades ago when people thought she was crazy. Turn the old Hono­lulu incinerator into a children’s museum? Ridiculous! It couldn’t be done.

The 45,000-square-foot building where the city’s trash was burned had been vacant for 30 years. It was dark, dismal and isolated — certainly not suitable, many thought, as a gathering place for kids.

When Yajima inspected the incinerator on a summer day in 1994, a ladder provided the only access to the upper level. "That’s where I saw the carcass of a stray cat, and I thought, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’" she said. "Even though I was filled with doubt and trepidation, I had to believe we could do it and convince others that we could as well!"

At the time, Yajima, a former teacher and school administrator, was heading the Hawaii Children’s Museum of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology as its volunteer CEO and president of the board. Immediately after the museum opened at Dole Cannery in 1989, however, it was apparent that it needed a larger, permanent home to accommodate its fast-growing number of visitors.

The facility closed in 1994 when then-Gov. John Wai­hee offered Yajima the incinerator site, and then fundraising for remediation and design, construction and installation of exhibits began in earnest.

"Gov. Waihee thought a children’s museum could be a great attraction in the lei of waterfront green that he envisioned in Kaka­ako," Yajima said. "But back then there was nothing there but the incinerator, a landfill and a lot of dirt and weeds. Thankfully, he was visionary enough to imagine the possibilities, and I was not going to let him down!"

On Dec. 19, 1998, $15 million and nearly five years later, the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center — renamed to appeal to a larger audience — opened its doors. Today it’s a beehive of activity, chatter and laughter. Everywhere kids are pressing buttons, pulling levers, turning wheels, donning costumes and tinkering with tools.

"Our mission is to provide a world-class learning environment that ignites children’s imagination, inspires learning and nurtures growth through play, which is the most important way that they learn," Yajima said. "We facilitate play between children and their parents with the goal of having them learn and grow together while having fun."

Knowing our future lies in the hands of our children, she wanted them to develop the skills they need to help build a peaceful world.

"Teaching children to respect and love themselves has to come before learning to care about others," Yajima said. "Therefore, the center’s exhibits are developed sequentially to do just that — starting first with how their bodies work and need to be taken care of, to working together in a town, then appreciating what is special about our state, our country, the world and, finally, our planet."

Five galleries with kid-size props mirror real-life scenarios. At the clinic, keiki can slip on a white doctor’s coat and listen to their parents’ heartbeat with a stethoscope. They can shop for groceries at the market and change tires on a car in the mechanic’s shop.

Another highlight is sitting in a mock-up cockpit of a Hawaiian Airlines jet and bringing it in for a landing. The plane’s cabin has been accurately re-created, right down to the in-flight magazines in the seat pockets.

"Where else do we offer opportunities for children to take the lead?" Yajima said. "It’s so important to empower them. We feel that if children are empowered, they get excited about learning."

Lynne’s Library is dedicated to Lynne Wai­hee, former first lady of Hawaii, and her efforts to promote literacy. In this cozy nook are plump pillows, stuffed animals, faux fireplaces, cushioned benches and, of course, dozens of books. Parents and kids can settle in a castle, the trunk of a tree or a giant armchair to read a book together.

"That’s precious bonding time," Yajima said. "I love that we’re helping families create memories that will last a lifetime."

Most visits to the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center conclude with a stroll through a charming village representing the immigrants who came to work on Hawaii’s plantations.

"The ethnic houses are settings for families to share stories," Yajima said. "For example, in the Japa­nese house kids can pretend to hold a tea ceremony as Oba­chan (grandmother) talks about how she did that growing up in Japan. We want children to know about their ethnic and cultural heritage and to appreciate the generations that came before them."

Last year, Yajima stepped down after 26 years at the museum’s helm, but she is still very much involved as board chairwoman. Being among keiki brings her joy and a sense of purpose: "Our hope is to inspire and empower young learners to use all of their senses to discover the wonder in their world, to develop a lifelong love of learning, to take pride in who they are and to treasure the rich multicultural heritage of Hawaii."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.