Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 9, 1995 TAG: 9501190050
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It was like a magnet, drawing Darron, with his father and baby sister in tow, through a perilous course of extension cords and workman's tools, so he could place his small hands on the Science Museum of Western Virginia's new, one-of-a-kind Plasma Ball.
Once there, his eyes glazed over, and Darron was mesmerized as he watched the blue lightning rods branch across the globe.
"I liked the way it followed your hand," the 5-year-old visitor said after the awe-inspiring experience.
The Smith family was sneaking a peek at the museum's Science Arcade last week, although the museum's new permanent addition didn't open to the public until last Saturday.
Exhibit Director Judy Hensley watched and laughed as Darron dragged his family to the Plasma Ball.
"It's been like this since the exhibits got here. It's all we can to do to keep the kids out of here while we finish," Hensley said.
The visitors haven't been the only ones eager to experience the 40 new color, sound and light exhibits in the Arcade.
Since the exhibits started arriving last week, a trip through the work site would find at least one worker at any given time trying to stump the talking computer with difficult words to pronounce (it affably remarks "nobody is perfect" when it mispronounces words) or driving co-workers crazy with the blare of Theremin's synthesized-sound music.
"We've played all night with Cyber Lumen and the plasma ball," said Scott Moore, the project manager. "Everyone wants to play."
And there are lots of colorful, interactive displays from which to choose.
There's the Invisible become Visible, a tube filled with kerosene that bubbles when sound waves are passed through it, and Recollections, a large screen that projects your shadow's movement in a rainbow of colors, and Turbo Flora, a rotating robotic neon flower.
But more importantly, each of these exhibits gives visitors an introductory course in physics, which is an area the museum hasn't tackled before.
Invisible becomes Visible shows the effects of sound waves. Recollections teaches light reflection and rainbow colors, and Turbo Flora shows the different colors of phosphorus.
They're complicated concepts that the museum has tried to break down into digestable bites, Hensley said.
Still, she admits it's a lot of information to absorb and understand. So, built into the exhibit is a lot of duplication. Laser Gazer shows that light can be bent, so do Refraction in Action and Rainbow Effect. Cyber Lumen and the Light Stick both show persistence of vision.
"Everyone learns in different ways," Hensley said, and some of the exhibits are too advanced for younger visitors.
So there are exhibits designed just for them - they're the ones adults have to squat to use.
On school tours, Hensley said, "we highlight different sets of components for different age groups, but with the public children will get as much as parents are willing to stop and explain what's happening."
But there's more to the $250,000 renovation than the bright lights and colorful displays, said museum Executive Director Ken Schutz. To him, it marks a turning point in the museum's history.
"This is the first new gallery in 11 years, and 11 years in science is almost a lifetime," he said. "It should've been done sooner."
So, the museum is playing catch-up, and this is its first step.
"It's how we're going to change every gallery on the floor," he said.
It won't be an overnight transformation. They're doing the renovation one area at a time - an energy room and Body Tech room are slated for completion this summer.
The total project will take about two years and $1.5 million to complete.
"This is a substantial investment. But every five years the museum will be redone because the technology changes so fast," he said.
The Arcade: Science Museum of Western Virginia, Center in the Square, downtown Roanoke. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m., the second Friday of the month. Admission, not including tax, is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens, $3 for children. 342-5710.
by CNB