When the Schenectady Museum decided to change its name and mission, rebranding itself as a regional science center called miSci, a key part of the plan was to increase the number of interactive exhibits.
MiSci staffers talked to industry experts about how to enhance their hands-on offerings, and they heard the same thing over and over: Hook up with the folks at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, home to more than 450 participatory exhibits.
MiSci is at 15 Nott Terrace Heights in Schenectady. Admission is $9.50, $8 for seniors 65 and older and $6.50 for children 3 to 12. Saturdays in October are GE Kids in Free Days, meaning kids 12 and under get in free when they’re accompanied by a paying adult, courtesy of GE.
So miSci and the Exploratorium struck a five-year deal calling for miSci to display exhibits from the Exploratorium. The first one, “Seeing,” opened Saturday, Oct. 6, in Schenectady and is already getting high marks from visitors, said miSci Director of Archives and Collections Chris Hunter.
“We’d gotten a lot of requests for hands-on activities,” he said. “This is kind of a level of interactivity that the area hasn’t seen before.”
Indeed, on a recent afternoon, visitors were gamely shooting basketballs, trying on goggles and carefully studying images as they enjoyed “Seeing,” which focuses on visual perception. The basketballs were part of an exhibit called “Hoop Nightmares” in which visitors shoot two basketballs at a hoop. They then don a pair of goggles outfitted with prisms that make the basket appear off center. They shoot while wearing the glasses, often missing.
But then, “you sort of learn to correct,” Hunter said. That happens after about 15 shots.
Take the goggles off, and you’ll probably still shoot to the side.
“Your eyes and brain haven’t quite corrected yet,” Hunter said.
Hunter said one of the benefits of “Seeing” is that it has signs with each exhibit explaining what is happening. They’re in Spanish and English, letting visitors know the science behind Hoop Nightmares and the other exhibits.
In Spinning Eraser, visitors focus on a yellow shape in the center of a black disc. There are other colors and shapes elsewhere on the disc, but as visitors spin it, those seem to disappear. The sign explains researchers aren’t exactly sure what causes this phenomenon.
Another exhibit features a black vase against a white background. Spin the vase, and the white background seems to morph into the shape of two people who are having a conversation. A few feet away, a row of columns against the wall yields to the image of several “angels” in between the columns.
Staff from the Exploratorium came to Schenectady to explain the exhibit and help set it up. The cost was covered by Jane and Neil Golub and National Grid, which will pay for the entire five-year partnership between the centers. That includes professional development, shipping the items, travel between the centers and any other costs that crop up.
Hunter said part of miSci’s aim is to eventually develop its own interactive exhibits, drawing on its own extensive collection that traces the region’s role in bringing technology to the masses.
“We’d like to really leverage the unique story we can tell with electronics and electric activities,” Hunter said. “It’s something we can do that no one else can do.”
Even with the shift to hands-on exhibits, miSci is committing to utilizing its artifacts, Hunter said. “Seeing” is complemented by several items from miSci’s collection that help people see in different ways. Displays include glasses, cameras, Edison light bulbs and experimental televisions.
“Seeing” runs through June, at which time a new hands-on exhibit from the Exploratorium will be installed. Although “Seeing” is getting a bit of a late start, exhibits will generally run from June to June, giving schools a chance to recognize and attend and educational staff at the center “more chance to explore,” Hunter said.
MiSci is at 15 Nott Terrace Heights in Schenectady. Admission is $9.50, $8 for seniors 65 and older and $6.50 for children 3 to 12. Saturdays in October are GE Kids in Free Days, meaning kids 12 and under get in free when they’re accompanied by a paying adult, courtesy of GE.
For more information, visit www.miSci.org.