Pacific Science Center Programs
From robotic dinosaurs to the Tropical Butterfly House, Pacific Science Center houses a number of regionally iconic exhibits. More than one million visitors each year engage with a wide range of hands-on exhibits that inspire them to ask questions and seek answers. The Puget Sound model, Body Works, Insect Village, Naked Mole Rats, and many others offer inspiring encounters with science. We also host travelling exhibits throughout the year, including Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs in May 2012.
Launched in 2005, Discovery Corps immerses youth (age 14-18) in mentoring and training with the goal of inspiring them to pursue a career in science. The program primarily serves youth from low-income families and youth from groups underrepresented in the sciences. To date, the program has served 304 Seattle area teens who engage in workshops to learn how to convey science concepts to visitors on our exhibit floor as well as participate in internships, field trips, mentoring with scientists and in social activities. Together, these activities create a community atmosphere that helps expose Corps members to the rich and fascinating opportunities provided by science.
Located on a 320-acre wetland in urban Bellevue, the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center is collaboration between Pacific Science Center and the City of Bellevue. Whether hosting field trips, sleepovers, camps, expeditions, internships, parties and public outreach programs, all activities have a common purpose: to plant seeds of wonder and curiosity about the environment that will have a lifelong impact. Here, children and families explore the trails, waterways and wildlife and then return to the on-site labs to study the science behind what they've observed.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Portal to the Public (PoP), which brings cutting-edge science to our community is one of our recent successes. This program helps scientists from regional organizations learn successful methods to convey their research to public audiences at PoP events held three times per year on our exhibit floor. During these events, scientists use hands-on, table top exhibits to engage with thousands of visitors. To extend the experience throughout the year, we created the Portal to Current Research, an exhibit space that changes content every six months and features the work of local scientists. The Portal to the Public program was acknowledged by the international community in October 2010 when it won the Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award from the Association of Science-Technology Centers.
Addressing current challenges means refreshing our facility, exhibits and education programs to meet the needs of our community for the next 50 years. Our 50 for the 50th: Future Ready capital campaign is revitalizing our campus, making improvements to our infrastructure and expanding our exhibit offerings. This revitalization can be seen across our campus with the addition of a Science on a Sphere interactive globe, with our new planetarium system, in our renovated PACCAR IMAX Theater, and with a new elevator that provides improved accessibility for our visitors. We are also renovating our traveling exhibit space for Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs opening in May 2012. In December 2012, we will open our first large-scale permanent exhibit in more than a decade, Professor Wellbody's Academy of Health & Wellness, which uses the theme of a mythical school to encourage and empower visitors to make everyday choices that will improve their health and wellness.