Sciencenter

Last updated
Sciencenter
Sciencenter
Established1983
Location Ithaca, New York, off of route 34 and 13 United States
Visitors104,102 (2023) [1]
Director Michelle Kortenaar
Website Sciencenter
Ithaca Discovery Trail

Sciencenter is a hands-on science museum in Ithaca, New York. It was founded on February 28, 1983 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization. The Sciencenter grew out of the volunteer-run hands-on science program run for 15 years at several elementary schools in the Ithaca City School District. [2] The community-based tradition continued as the museum grew to be nationally known, despite not having a paid staff until the 1990s. [3] The Sciencenter is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), and is a member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) and Association of Children's Museums.

Contents

Beginnings

The Sciencenter grew out of the vision of community volunteers Debbie Levin and Ilma Levine who sought to expand upon the "Science Discovery Room Program" they developed with Beverly J. Martin at Central Elementary School (now called Beverly J. Martin Elementary School) in the 1970s-1980s. In 1982, an ad was placed in the Ithaca Journal inviting any individual interested in starting a community science center to meet at the local public library. From this group emerged a board of directors, which laid the foundation for the success of the organization.

Early Operations

The early Sciencenter was somatic nomadic as its gallery spaces moved among several donated storefronts in downtown Ithaca. The first exhibition space was opened in 1984 at 200 East Buffalo Street, in space donated by Sciarabba Walker and Co. When the Sciencenter had to move, it was able to find free space in the old Hickey's Music Store on South Tioga Street. Volunteers built exhibits, a small museum store was added, and schools were invited to bring classes for hands-on programs. From 1986 to 1989, membership and attendance grew, and the base of volunteers expanded. When the Sciencenter was forced to close its Tioga Street site to make way for a new county building, Ithaca Center Associates offered temporary space. The Sciencenter relocated to the Center Ithaca complex during 1989 and in 1990 closed its exhibit space to focus on the task of building a permanent home.

Plans for a Permanent Facility

By the fall of 1988, it had become clear the organization would need to find larger and more permanent quarters to remain viable in the long term. Architect Bob Leathers, of Leathers and Associates, nationally known for his innovative community-built playgrounds and Ithaca resident, offered his services to help design a structure that would serve as home to the Sciencenter. Leathers proposed the Sciencenter be built by members of the community – including businesspersons, secretaries, store clerks, teachers, bricklayers, electricians, university professors, doctors, grandparents, and children. The result would be a science museum that belonged to the entire community, because they had built it.

The First Campaign

The campaign began in 1990 with a donation of $50,000 by Vector Magnetics, Inc., an Ithaca technology firm. In October 1990, the board, under chair Bruce Thompson, hired registered professional engineer and geologist, Dr. Charles Trautmann, as executive director. The project was announced in February 1991 at a party at Rock Stream Studios, then at 235 Cherry St. in Ithaca, that was attended by 500 individuals and highlighted by presentations by Mayor Benjamin Nichols, Assemblyman Marty Luster, State Senator Jim Seward, Congressman Matt McHugh, Cornell President Emeritus Dale Corson, Nobel Laureate Hans Bethe, and Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan. Trautmann and Thompson were able to secure pledges from several donors for $250,000 to move the project forward. Under their leadership, the Sciencenter board, staff, and volunteers developed refined architectural plans, formulated a business plan, and laid the groundwork for a $1 million fundraising campaign. The proposed building would be about 5,000 square feet (460 m2) in area and would have an adjacent outdoor science park.

Phase 1 Construction

Phase 1 Construction of the Sciencenter was accomplished as a result of valuable contributions by a steering committee, corporate lead support, individual and community donors, challenge grant campaign, and community volunteers. Emerson Power Transmission Corporation and Wegmans Food Markets donated cash. A $90,000 demonstration project grant for the heating system was provided by the New York State Electric and Gas Corporation. Many other local businesses assisted with donations of building materials or deep discounts on products and services. Restaurants provided food during the building periods, as did many individuals. Cornell fundraiser Sherri Bergman, anxious to join the challenge of creating a community-built science center, was hired to help with the project. The cash portion of the campaign was capped with a $100,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation. A major commitment to a volunteer-built project was a first for the foundation. Groundbreaking officially took place at a ceremony in August 1992, and construction took place between August 1992 and May 1993, with 2,200 volunteers donating more than 40,000 hours of labor to the project. The grand opening took place on May 22, 1993, slightly less than ten months after groundbreaking. During the early days, visitors streamed into the museum at a rate of about 50,000 per year to interact with the exhibits and take part in the educational programs offered by the museum.

Museum Expansion

Exhibit development was rapid and prolific, and by 1995 a number of exhibits were in storage for lack of display space. Demand for programs continued to grow, additional NSF project grants were in hand, and the staff was twice as large as had been projected in a 1992 pre-construction business plan. To accommodate this growth, the Sciencenter leased an adjacent brick building from the City of Ithaca to provide 2,000 square feet (190 m2) of program space. In 1996, the City gave this building and the other half of the 600 block of First Street to the Sciencenter for $1 following an intense year-long lobbying effort by executive director Charlie Trautmann and Ithaca Common Council member Susan Blumenthal. In 1999, the Sciencenter launched a capital campaign to expand the Sciencenter to 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2) to provide additional exhibit and program space, an early childhood area, and a discovery room. The campaign raised $5.5 million and the expansion project was dedicated on February 28, 2003, on the 20th anniversary of the Sciencenter's founding.

Advancement

With the museum expansion behind it, the organization could now focus on planning for future educational impact and building systems to support these strategic plans. The museum began to implement development, membership, marketing, communications and public/media relations to advance the mission of the Sciencenter. Key priorities included: growing the annual fund, developing an individual giving program, raising funds for special projects, and growing the Sciencenter endowment.

Guest Relations and Operations

Its Guest Relations and Operations team manages the front desk and operates the Sciencenter store. Volunteers continue to assist with many aspects of the operation, including serving as museum guides, assisting with member services, working on building and grounds maintenance, and delivering educational programs. With the help of volunteers, the Sciencenter organizes a number of free days at the museum and free community events.

Educational Programs

The museum runs a variety of programs: on-site and off-site, school-based and non-school-based. Educational programs include field trips, after school programs, summer camp, and floor activities. The museum offers education programs for all ages from toddlers through adults.

Sciencenter Exhibits

The mission of the Sciencenter is to cultivate a broad community of curious, confident, critical thinkers. The Sciencenter in Ithaca features 250+ fun, hands-on exhibits, educational programs, an outdoor science playground, a seasonal 18-hole Sciencenter Mini-Golf course, a Tidepool Touch Tank with live marine animals, an animal room, and an area designed for kids ages 4 and under with its own playground. A unique feature of the Sciencenter is the outdoor science park, featuring a series of interconnected ramps and structures containing more than two dozen playground-type activities related to physics, engineering, and geology. In 2008, the Science Playground was part of a major outdoor capital improvement project that – in the spirit of past community build events – brought together 275 volunteers from the community to enhance the park, and other outdoor learning spaces at the museum.

In 1997, the Sciencenter opened the Sagan Planet Walk, an outdoor walking scale model of the solar system named in memory of Carl Sagan., [4] [5] a member of the Sciencenter's advisory board until his death in December 1996. The exhibition is 1,200 meters long and extends from the Commons in downtown Ithaca to the Sciencenter. An audio tour for cell phones and media players, narrated by Bill Nye, was added in 2003, and the Asteroid station, featuring a real meteorite, was added in 2009. In 2018 Augmented Reality features were added to a number of the stations.

Traveling exhibitions

The Sciencenter's traveling exhibition program took on a national flavor in 1996 with the receipt of a major grant from the National Science Foundation. The Sciencenter was one of five founding members of a national exhibition collaborative for small museums called TEAMS (Traveling Exhibitions At Museums of Science), which received a $1.2 million grant to produce 5 separate traveling exhibitions. These were completed in 1999 and several are still on tour. The Sciencenter's contribution, FUN, 2, 3, 4: All About a Number of Things!, has 15 exhibits on measuring, graphing, counting, and estimating. The Sciencenter's first major solo NSF grant was called Tech City and led to the development of a 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) exhibition that began a national tour in 2003. Over the following years, a number of other major grants were received, including two extensions of the NSF TEAMS grant in 2000 and 2004, additional NSF grants through Cornell University, and a number of NASA Education and Public Outreach grants. The Sciencenter's exhibits staff has grown considerably, and is managing and supporting a portfolio of traveling exhibitions currently including 14 exhibitions, eight of which were developed by the Sciencenter, with others coming from exhibition collaboratives who have contracted with the Sciencenter based on its growing reputation in exhibition tour management among small museums.

Discovery Trail

The museum is a member of the Discovery Trail, [6] uniting several of the Ithaca's museums and the Tompkins County Public Library.

Related Research Articles

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a science and technology museum in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains three auditoriums, including a large-screen theatre, planetarium, and exhibition halls with a variety of hands-on permanent exhibits focused on natural sciences, industry, and technology. Transient exhibits span a wider range of disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ithaca Commons</span> Place of local interest in New York State

The Ithaca Commons is a two-block pedestrian mall in the business improvement district known as Downtown Ithaca that serves as the city's cultural and economic center. The Commons is a popular regional destination, and is filled with upscale restaurants and shops, public art, and frequent community festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COSI</span> Science museum in Columbus, Ohio

COSI, officially the Center of Science and Industry, is a science museum and research center in Columbus, Ohio. COSI was opened to the public on 29 March 1964 and remained there for 35 years. In 1999, COSI was moved to a 320,000-square-foot (30,000 m2) facility, designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki along a bend in the Scioto River in the Franklinton neighborhood. COSI features more than 300 interactive exhibits throughout themed exhibition areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Children's Museum of Indianapolis</span> Childrens museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the world's largest children's museum. It is located at 3000 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana in the United Northwest Area neighborhood of the city. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is 472,900 square feet (43,933.85 m2) with five floors of exhibit halls and receives more than one million visitors annually. Its collection of over 130,000 artifacts and exhibit items is divided into two domains: Arts & Humanities and the Natural Sciences. Among the exhibits are simulated Cretaceous and Jurassic dinosaur habitats, a carousel, a steam locomotive, and the glass sculpture Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling. The museum's focus is family learning; most exhibits are designed to be interactive, allowing children and families to actively participate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchorage Museum</span> Museum in Alaska

The Anchorage Museum is a large art, history, ethnography, ecology and science museum located in a modern building in the heart of Anchorage, Alaska. It is dedicated to studying and exploring the land, peoples, art and history of Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabot Space and Science Center</span> Science center in California

Chabot Space and Science Center, located in Oakland, California, is a center for learning in Earth and space science, which features interactive exhibits, planetariums, a large screen theater, hands-on activities, and three powerful telescopes.

The Sioux City Art Center began as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1937 when the Art Center Association of Sioux City, the Sioux City Junior League, as well as other community supporters, received a grant of $3,000 to create the first art center. After the Federal Assistance Program ended in 1940, the Sioux City City Council voted to fund the Art Center and established the Board of Trustees, the City's fiscal governing board for the Art Center in 1941. It is located in Sioux City, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of the Earth</span> Museum in Ithaca, New York

The Museum of the Earth is a natural history museum located in Ithaca, New York. The museum was opened in 2003 as part of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), an independent organization pursuing research and education in the history of the Earth and its life. Both PRI and the Museum of the Earth are formally affiliated with Cornell University. The Museum of the Earth is home to Earth science exhibits and science-related art displays with a focus on the concurrent evolution of the Earth and life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontological Research Institution</span> U.S. non-profit organization

The Paleontological Research Institution, or PRI, is a paleontological organization in Ithaca, New York, with a mission including both research and education. PRI is affiliated with Cornell University, houses one of the largest fossil collections in North America, and publishes, among other things, the oldest journal of paleontology in the western hemisphere, Bulletins of American Paleontology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science</span> Science museum in Miami, Florida, US

The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, formerly known as the Miami Science Museum or Miami Science Museum and Space Transit Planetarium, is a science museum, planetarium, and aquarium located in Miami, Florida, United States. The museum originally opened its Coconut Grove location across from Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in 1960. It relocated to Maurice A. Ferré Park in the downtown area adjacent to the Perez Art Museum Miami in 2017 after the closing of the Coconut Grove location in 2015.

The International Museum of Art & Science (IMAS) is a museum located in McAllen, Texas. It is dedicated to exhibiting Latin American art, as well as educating visitors about science. Its exhibits include antique stained glass, images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Discovery Pavilion, an educational children's exhibit. The museum also features a sculpture garden and a science playground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidspace Children's Museum</span>

Kidspace Children's Museum is a children's museum in Pasadena, California. It is located next to the Rose Bowl, in the former Fannie E. Morrison Horticultural Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omaha Children's Museum</span>

The Omaha Children's Museum is a nonprofit learning and exploration space for young people located at 500 South 20th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The museum has received a national award from the Association of Science and Technology Museums.

The Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum (MHDM) is a children's museum in the Hudson River Valley between the larger New York City and Albany markets. It was formerly known as the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum, until the range of children it serves was extended to age 12 in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Bay History Center</span>

Tampa Bay History Center is a history museum in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is a Smithsonian Affiliate and has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 2015. Exhibits include coverage of the Tampa Bay area's first native inhabitants, Spanish conquistadors, and historical figures who shaped the area's history, as well as a reproduction of a 1920s cigar store. The museum is on the waterfront at 801 Water Street in Tampa's Channelside District. It opened on January 17, 2009. The History Center building is 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) with 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) of exhibit space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ithaca Discovery Trail</span>

The Ithaca Discovery Trail is a collaboration among hands-on museums and the public library in Tompkins County, New York. Its member institutions are: Cayuga Nature Center, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell Botanic Gardens, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Museum of the Earth, Sciencenter, The History Center of Tompkins County, and Tompkins County Public Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cayuga Nature Center</span> Educational institution in New York, US

The Cayuga Nature Center (CNC) is an educational institution addressing nature and environmental issues. It is located on the west side of Cayuga Lake in Tompkins County, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stamford Museum & Nature Center</span> Museum in Connecticut, US

The Stamford Museum & Nature Center, located in Stamford, Connecticut, is an art, history, nature, and agricultural sciences museum. The property covers 118 acres beginning about half a mile north of the Merritt Parkway. It was originally a private estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art</span> Art museum in Montana, U.S.

Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is an art museum located at 1400 First Avenue North in Great Falls, Montana, in the United States. The building was constructed in 1896 to house the city's first high school, Great Falls High School. The high school moved to new quarters in 1931, at which time the building was renamed Paris Gibson Junior High School. The junior high school vacated the premises in 1975 for a new building. In 1977, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art was formed, and it took ownership of the building. It is one of six museums in the city. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Elementary School (Houston)</span> Public elementary school in Texas, USA

William B. Travis Elementary School is a public elementary school in the Woodland Heights area of Houston, Texas. It is a part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

References

  1. ↑ "Sciencenter 2023 Annual Report" . Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  2. ↑ Charles H. Trautmann (April 2006). "A History of the Sciencenter" (PDF). Sciencenter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  3. ↑ Colleen Corley (2008-04-30). "25th Birthday Bash...15 Years After Original Community Build, Sciencenter's at it Again". Ithaca Times. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  4. ↑ "Sagan Planet Walk". Sciencenter. Archived from the original on 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  5. ↑ "Sagan Honored with his Own Solar system". CNN. Associated Press. 1997-11-09. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  6. ↑ Nancy Grossman (2008-01-25). "Discovery Trail Sites Thrive on Community Support, Visitors". Ithaca Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-16.[ dead link ]

42°27′0.2″N76°30′15.8″W / 42.450056°N 76.504389°W / 42.450056; -76.504389

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.