The Discovery Center began in 1992 as a pilot program of The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a program benefiting children with life-threatening illnesses, championed by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Using the same facility, the Discovery Center brought together students from sister schools, pairing urban and suburban classrooms. During the first eight years, the program demonstrated the effectiveness of an adventure-based residential program in forging friendships and building bridges across racial, socio-economic, and cultural barriers. In this period, it served 4,358 children in eight school districts.

In 2000, the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp extended its core program for children with life-threatening illnesses to a year-round schedule and the Discovery Center began the process of developing as a separate entity. The Discovery Center incorporated in 2002 as an independent 501-c-3, non-profit. With a challenge grant of $500,000, the Board of Directors forged new partners along with the existing ones, i.e. school districts in the Greater Hartford region, the University of Hartford School of Education, YMCA, Camp Woodstock, and private sector donors.