Forty years old and about to undergo a bit of a transformation, the Science Museum of Western Virginia threw itself a birthday party last Sunday. It seemed as if half of Roanoke showed up. The 4th floor attraction at Center in the Square was jam packed with people of all ages, checking out the exhibits and interactive attractions. “For the Science Museum to have existed for 40 years is actually pretty phenomenal,” said executive director Nancy McCrickard, who came aboard 3 1/2 years ago.
A group of local teachers and volunteers founded the Science Museum, which was modeled in part after California’s hands-on Exploratorium, according to McCrickard. It moved to its current home at Center in the Square in 1983.
The collaborative spirit designed to enhance what children might learn in a classroom “has been continued for 40 years,” said McCrickard, “and now we’re looking to the next 40 with a reinvention. We’re real excited to be partnering with the community to do that.”
Sometime next year, if all goes as planned, Center in the Square will shut down for major renovations. During that hiatus McCrickard said the Science Museum of Western Virginia “should gain about 10,000 square feet of exhibition space on two floors, partially as a result of walls being taken down. That will open things up in a significant way.”
The made-over museum that will emerge after Center in the Square reopens will focus on science-based careers, and it will have a focus on regional significance in the world of science. “Who knows what the jobs will be like in five years?” asks McCrickard.
New exhibits already on the floor now are being studied as to how visitors interact with them; McCrickard said that might give planners design hints for attractions at the museum after it opens back up. “We really need to be looking to engage people in a very different way – people use technology differently today. People just don’t stop and read [signs at museums].”
As to when it may reopen, “everything is so dependent on [Center’s] schedule. We don’t really know what the schedule is.” In any case McCrickard has been looking forward to the major renovation “for three and a half years. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
As for all of those people filing in for free on a Sunday afternoon, “we really want to get them back,” said McCrickard. The museum does offer “Free Fridays” once a month but “attendance is much lower then,” she noted, “compared to the horde that showed up last week.”
By Gene Marrano [email protected]