The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (abbreviated as Boonshoft) is a children's museum, science and technology center and zoo in Dayton, Ohio, United States that focuses on science and natural history. Exhibits include an extensive natural history collection as well as maintaining a collection of live animals native to Ohio and abroad. Educational outreach extends to the community by providing in-school programming and on-site special programs. SunWatch Indian Village and Fort Ancient are the sister sites to the museum.[2]
The museum was founded in 1893 as the Dayton Museum of Natural History, organizationally part of the Dayton Public Library and Museum.[8] In 1999, the name was changed in honor of Oscar Boonshoft.[9] In 1991 the museum added a Digistar IIPlanetarium to its facilities.
In March 2013, the Dayton Society of Natural History opened a satellite version of their main museum, called the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery Springfield, in an approximately 4000-square-foot space in the Upper Valley Mall near Springfield,[10] moving to 20,000 square feet in the former Elder-Beerman space in November. On March 25, 2016, the Dayton Society of Natural History announced that it would close this satellite museum;[11] it did so on April 30.[12]
Permanent museum exhibits
Science On a Sphere is a 68-inch-diameter (1.7m)globe, suspended in mid-air, capable of showing dynamic visualizations of Earth and space. It also has the capability of showing commercial air traffic around the world while presenting other things such as turtle migrations.[13]
Hall of the Universe is an exhibit where interactive learning can take place about the Solar System. Also contains the Exoplanet Exploration exhibit.
Oscar Boonshoft Science Central is an exhibit that contains a water table where children can learn about water and its properties, a manipulative area where children can learn about points, lines, and curves through rubber band art, a demonstrative laboratory, and several other interactive areas.[15]
Children in the Discovery Zoo exhibit
Nesiur the Mummy is an exhibit that contains a mummy donated to the museum from Egypt, and other African pieces.[16]
Mead Tree House is a fully enclosed tree house where children can learn about environmental preservation and use binoculars to do bird watching through windows within the tree house.[16]
The Tidal Pool is an exhibit that contains live marine invertebrates native to the Pacific Northwest, such as starfish. The exhibit is run by a museum employee or volunteer.
The Bieser Discovery Center is an exhibit that contains thousands of real specimens such as animal skeletons, shells, and fossils. Also located in the exhibit are live snakes, including a burmese python. Along with these things are many science related children's books.[17]
The Discovery Zoo is an indoor zoo that is fully accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) that showcases mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians with special adaptations for survival.[18] The Discovery Zoo is home to over 150 animals including a Linne's two-toed sloth, bat-eared foxes, North American river otters, African meerkats, and more recently a Mertens's water monitor named Nessie. Although the museum does not itself rehabilitate injured animals, many of the animals, including the zoo's Virginia opossum, came to the zoo after being injured in the wild and rehabilitated elsewhere, and would be unable to survive on their own.[18] Two otters currently live in the zoo, and are part of a national breeding program; their names are Eno and Sikwa. The Discovery zoo was renovated in 2010 to expand its capacity and recreate a new style to the zoo. The project also included the addition of around 18 new species of animals to the zoo. The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is one of only four museums in the United States that are accredited as an official zoo. The renovation project came at a cost of $1 million.[19]
Education
The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is a popular spot for school field trips. In addition to school field trips, the museum has a program called Exhibits-To-Go which are a set of exhibits that can be taken directly to school classrooms in the Dayton area.[20]
Each day the staff presents special programs such as hands-on science experiments, otter feedings, Planetarium shows, story times, and bird watching (at the Mead Tree House),[16] Science on a Sphere live presentations,[13] and visits with live animals.[21]
Events
The museum hosts many special events each year, such as Red White & Boonshoft, GeekFest, and Eureka!. The Education Department also holds large-scale activities in support of Biology, Nanotechnology and Chemistry, and the Astronomy Department holds Astronomy Day and special Friday night star gazing events.[21]
The future
In 2010, NASA awarded more than $800,000 to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery for the creation of an Exoplanet Exploration exhibit.[22]
Along with the museum's permanent exhibits, there are also traveling exhibits that are commonly presented at the museum.[23]
In the wake of the 2016 closure of the satellite museum at the Upper Valley Mall, the Dayton Society of Natural History had considered relocating the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery Springfield into a building on South Fountain Avenue in downtown Springfield. The society estimated it would have needed to raise $2 million for building renovations and $2 million for an endowment to operate the satellite. Renovations were to begin in early 2017, with reopening expected in late 2017 or early 2018.[11] In July 2016 the society decided against this location because of the cost and the short timeframe for fundraising. The society and Springfield leaders reported that they were still working together to find another location.[24] In 2017 some renovations and exhibits were moved and changed. Notably the courthouse and grocery store were removed, the pizza kitchen was moved where the court house was, a shape shop was opened and the Vet Hospital was moved to the old grocery store and expanded. In late 2018 and early 2019 renovations on the lobby, restrooms and education labs began.
↑ "Apollo Observatory". mvas.org. Miami Valley Astronomicaql Society. 3 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
The Montreal Biodome is a museum of enclosed ecosystems located at Olympic Park in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. AZA is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, and accredits zoos. There were 238 accredited facilities as of 2019, primarily in the US, and also a handful in eleven other countries.
The Museum of Science (MoS) is a nature and science museum and indoor zoological establishment located in Science Park, a plot of land in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live and interactive presentations throughout the building each day, along with scheduled film showings at the Charles Hayden Planetarium and the Mugar Omni Theater. The Museum is a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Additionally, the Museum of Science is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), being home to over 100 animals, many of which the museum gained after they were surrendered, confiscated, rescued or rehabilitated.
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Apollo Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned by Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and operated by the Miami Valley Astronomical Society at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. The observatory is located at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, Ohio, United States.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is a natural history museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. The museum was established in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Society, an organization whose goals were to provide a free institution for the people of Houston focusing on education and science. The museum complex consists of a central facility with four floors of natural science halls and exhibits, the Burke Baker Planetarium, the Cockrell Butterfly Center, and the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre. In 2022, the museum received 1,520,000 visitors, making it seventh on the List of most-visited museums in the United States, and was the third most-visited U.S. science museum. Much of the museum's popularity is attributed to its large number of special or guest exhibits.
The Potter Park Zoo is a 102-acre (41.3 ha) zoo located in Lansing, Michigan, within Lansing's Potter Park. Its mission is to Inspire people to conserve animals in the natural world. Potter Park Zoo is the oldest public zoo in Michigan and is currently home to over 160 species of animals. The zoo is owned by the City of Lansing, and operated by Ingham County. The zoo participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) designed to manage and conserve threatened or endangered animals. The Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine partners with the zoo to provide medical care for its animals.
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