Liberty Science Center

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Liberty Science Center is an interactive science museum and learning center located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The center, which first opened in 1993 as New Jersey's first major state science museum, has science exhibits, the world's largest IMAX Dome theater, numerous educational resources, and the original Hoberman sphere, a silver, computer-driven engineering artwork designed by Chuck Hoberman. The museum opened with another artistic exhibit that is related to the sciences, Jim Gary's Twentieth Century Dinosaurs sculpture exhibition, as the exhibit on the ground floor. [1]

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[edit] Liberty Science Center's Expansion

Liberty Science Center before its 2006 re-construction
Liberty Science Center before its 2006 re-construction

Liberty Science Center completed a twenty-two-month, $109 million expansion and renewal project on July 19, 2007.[2] The expansion added 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) to the facility, bringing it to nearly 300,000 square feet (28,000 m²).[3] However the amount of exhibit space slightly decreased with the expansion as all the new space added is open space such as queue lines for the ticketing office.It also has state-of-the-art surround sound, and also one of the world's best picture screen in the IMAX dome.

Replacing almost every exhibition in the building, the "new" Liberty Science Center's exhibitions include [4]:

  • Skyscraper! Achievement and Impact - the largest exhibition on the subject of skyscrapers in the world - with artifacts from the World Trade Center, a walk along an I-Beam two stories above the exhibition floor, an earthquake-shake table, and more.
  • Eat and Be Eaten - this exhibit of life animals explores the predator-prey relationship, offering lots of live animals including deadly vipers, amazing puffer fish, and scores of other creatures.
  • Communication explores human communication in four areas -- body and language; symbols, signs, and writing; print, audio, and video; and signals and networks.
  • Infection Connection - helps guests understand how individual actions may affect global health issues.
  • I Explore - an age-restricted area, where guests under age six and their caregivers can explore aspects of the world around them through water play, a large climbing structure, a street scape, and a rock xylophone - made from hanging rocks that ring like bells when struck.
  • Our Hudson Home - teaches guests about the wildlife and ecology of the Hudson River.
  • Wonder Why - holds many of the original exhibits from the earliest days of the museum.
  • Energy Quest - explores different energy types and the technologies to harness these.
  • Traveling Exhibit - Various exhibits on display. The first exhibit since the center re-opened was Islamic Science Re-Discovered. The current traveling exhibit that is at Liberty Science Center until September 15, 2008 is called Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear exhibit. Where guests see how they will react when they are exposed to creepy animals, loud noises, electric shock and the fear of falling. Guests will discover why their bodies react the way they do.

[edit] Jennifer A. Chalsty Center for Science Learning and Teaching

In July 2007 the new Jennifer A. Chalsty Center for Science Learning and Teaching opened. It is a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m²) facility extending over the entire former Invention Floor of Liberty Science Center, with six laboratories, a 150-seat theater, and other resources for teachers and students. Here educators can upgrade science teaching skills and find peers to help strengthen science instruction in the classroom, while students can participate in intense, multi-day or single hour programs to ignite interest and skills in science exploration. [5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kolata, Gina. "Science Gets Its Chance to Dazzle", The New York Times, January 22, 1993. Accessed December 30, 2007.
  2. ^ [1] MacPherson, Kitta. "Innovation & Inspiration" Newark Star-Ledger, Oct 4, 2006.
  3. ^ Liberty Science Center Expansion Project, accessed January 30, 2007
  4. ^ [2] MacPherson, Kitta. "Innovation & Inspiration" Newark Star-Ledger, Oct 4, 2006.
  5. ^ Osowski, Jeffrey. "Enliven the art of teaching science", New Jersey Education Association Review, February 2006.

[edit] External links

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