Media Releases

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World Around Us_Discovery Gallery
World Around Us_Diversity Dilemma
World Around Us_Earth Cycle Puzzle
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• New $4.3 million natural and earth sciences
  exhibit opens Sept. 24
  
• Educators explore the true value of a question
  at Inquiry Summit
• Science Center surpasses $6.7 million capital campaign goal
• MONEYVILLE exhibit opens May 28 at the Louisville Science Center
• FORCES OF NATURE opens May 21 in the Science Center's IMAX Theatre
• Award-winning photographer shooting spring splendor for new Science Center exhibit
  
  
  

New $4.3 million natural and earth sciences exhibit opens Sept. 24
(June 17, 2005) - On September 24, the Louisville Science Center will open THE WORLD AROUND US, a $4.3 million permanent exhibit more than two years in the making. This action-packed, hands-on encounter with natural and earth sciences encourages a deeper understanding of the natural world.

Visitors can explore three major ecological galleries: Atmosphere: The Air That Surrounds Us; Terrasphere: Environments That Support Us; and Aquasphere: The Water That Sustains Us. The exhibit will showcase the Science Center's natural history collections - bringing out of storage reconditioned local favorites such as the Egyptian mummy, Gemini trainer and polar bears.

Covering 8,000 square feet, the exhibit includes an entrance with three giant video screens that immerse visitors in changing panoramic scenes of the region's natural treasures. Among the many other highlights are a fabricated forest with a crawl-through cave, a water cycle experience much like a giant pinball machine and a sit-in video game that takes visitors on a vibrating trip into the Earth's atmosphere.

THE WORLD AROUND US completes the Science Center's strategic plan to completely transform the facility with three new permanent exhibits and other improvements. The Science Center has raised more than $21 million in that time and increased the number of persons served by more than 50 percent. THE WORLD AROUND US is funded in part by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Educators explore the true value of a question
at Inquiry Summit (June 24, 2005) -- Think teachers are all about answers? At the Louisville Inquiry Summit on June 27 through July 1 at the Louisville Science Center, more than 30 educators will focus on the next generation in classroom instruction - questions.

Formally called "inquiry-based learning," this method of teaching guides students in exploring their own natural interests in the subject being presented. When students want to know the answer, they are highly motivated and more likely to be successful learners.

Inquiry-based learning is a national and state education standard, but there is little common understanding of how to achieve it. Funded by the Kentucky Department of Education, the Summit will bring together instructional leaders and administrators as well as informal educators from NASA, the Louisville Zoo and the Science Center. They will help create a network to further the practice and make it an integral part of learning in the state.

Educators will experience inquiry-based learning firsthand - by exploring their own questions about the topic of magnetism. The Summit will run 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, and notable highlights include: Tuesday, noon-1:30 p.m.: Participants will explore magnetism at hands-on learning stations; Thursday, 9-10:30 am.: Participants will present original experiments developed to answer their own questions about magnetism; Thursday, 12:15 p.m.: Linda France, deputy commissioner of learning and results services for the Kentucky Department of Education, will discuss the importance inquiry-based learning in Kentucky classrooms.

Science Center surpasses $6.7 million capital campaign goal (May 19, 2005) -- Overcoming a downturn in the economy and the uncertainty resulting from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Louisville Science Center has surpassed its $6.7 million capital campaign goal. The just-under $7 million raised to date will fund a major new permanent exhibit, THE WORLD AROUND US, and provide for future growth, education and financial stability.

Led by co-chairs Kathy and Kent Oyler, the four-year campaign overcame one of the most difficult fund-raising environments in recent memory in a slow economy that reduced available philanthropic funds that rely on investment income. The campaign achieved a record level of financial support from the Science Center's Board of Directors and earned new kinds of funding from prestigious competitive grants, a tribute to the Science Center's demonstrated strength in science education.

The funds will be used for:
· A new permanent natural and earth sciences exhibit, THE WORLD AROUND US, scheduled to open on Sept. 24
· Renovation of space in an adjacent building for a Science Education Wing
· Improvements to the IMAX Theatre and Gift Shop
· Establishment of an Exhibit Maintenance and Replacement Fund
· Support of annual educational programs

The campaign received significant community support through a leadership gift from Louisville Metro Government and federal earmarks obtained by Representative Anne Northup and Senator Jim Bunning. In March, the campaign received a final boost with $700,000 in state funding awarded during the 2005 Kentucky General Assembly.

An impressive list of over 400 donors includes many local foundations, businesses and individuals. Major gifts were made by the James Graham Brown Foundation, Brown-Forman Corporation, Gheens Foundation, C.E. and S. Foundation, Humana Foundation, LG&E Energy Foundation, National City, Paul Ogle Foundation, Publishers Printing, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing.

The exhibit project was awarded two nationally prestigious competitive grants - $1.6 million from the National Science Foundation, and $150,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

This capital campaign completes the Science Center's ambitious 10-year plan to completely transform the facility with three new permanent exhibits and other improvements. The Science Center has raised more than $21 million in that time and increased the number of persons served by more than 50 percent. Its new strategic plan focuses on using the new exhibits as tools to create innovative new educational programs.

MONEYVILLE exhibit opens May 28 at the Louisville Science Center (March 30, 2005) - Visitors can play the stock market, run a lemonade stand, and see samples of currency - from pounds to pesos - in MONEYVILLE, a new temporary exhibit opening on May 28, 2005, at the Louisville Science Center.

MONEYVILLE uses the fascinating subject of money to build math and economics skills in an engaging setting. The colorful city includes a bank, store, anti-counterfeiting lab, stock market and international port. Here visitors can create their own "money," explore anti-counterfeiting measures and see what a million dollars looks like. The exhibit explores how money is made, spent, earned, and saved, and how it connects people worldwide.

In today's shaky economy, building a strong foundation of math skills has never been more important. The average American carries nearly $9,000 in credit card debt, according to a 2001 report by the Consumer Federation of America, and consequently the average U.S. family is spending more than $1,000 per year in interest and fees. Everyone stands to gain from learning how to be more money-savvy, and smart money management begins with good math skills.

A recent study by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics reveals that many students are not learning the mathematics they need in school. That's where MONEYVILLE comes in, with hands-on activities that show both children and adults that math can be fun!

MONEYVILLE is open through September 11, 2005. Exhibit-only admission is $9 for adults and $8 for children 2 to 12 and seniors 60 and older. Combination tickets, which include an IMAX® film, are $12 for adults and $9 for children and seniors. For more information, visit ww.LouisvilleScience.org or call (502) 561-6100.

MONEYVILLE was made possible by the generous support of the National Science Foundation, the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and The NASDAQ Stock Market Educational Foundation, Inc. The exhibit was created and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. MONEYVILLE is sponsored locally by Chase.

FORCES OF NATURE opens May 21 in the Science Center's IMAX Theatre (March 30, 2005) - Modern-day disasters from around the globe come to life in eye-popping enormity on the four-story-tall IMAX® screen in FORCES OF NATURE, opening on May 21, 2005, in the Louisville Science Center's IMAX Theatre.

From an active Caribbean volcano to the earthquake-tested antiquities of Istanbul, and finally on to America's notorious "Tornado Alley," "Forces of Nature" showcases three scientists aiming to improve our odds of surviving these terrifying events. At the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, Dr. Marie Edmonds keeps watch over Soufriere Hills, the island's active volcano. In the ancient city of Istanbul, geophysicist Dr. Ross Stein has spent much of his career studying the rumblings of the North Anatolian Fault. Stein's earthquake-progression model anticipates stress sites along fault lines. But his model's success is little cause for celebration when predictions ring true for the city of Izmit. FORCES OF NATURE witnesses the aftermath of the 1999 quake, which had an astonishing human toll of more than 17,000 dead and thousands more injured. Is Istanbul next?

There are other places where the ground seemingly holds steady, and disaster strikes from above. In the United States alone, tornadoes kill dozens of people each year, and Midwesterners rightfully fear the power of a sudden storm. Not all rotating storms spawn tornadoes, so it is up to scientists like Dr. Joshua Wurman to try to figure out which ones do, greatly aiding warning efforts. Wurman's enduring mission is to get a radar's-eye view inside a tornado, and FORCES OF NATURE delivers a wild ride as his team manages to corner a massive twister.

From the very brink of erupting volcanoes, along shuddering fault lines, and barreling toward angry funnel clouds, larger-than-life images and sound immerse the audience in the colossal powers that shape our world. Partnering with Graphic Films, National Geographic examines these inspiring and terrifying natural events, captured on the world's biggest film format.

FORCES OF NATURE is open through December 2005. IMAX-only admission is $9 for adults and $8 for children 2 to 12 and seniors 60 and older. Combination tickets, which include an IMAX® film, are $12 for adults and $9 for children and seniors. For more information, visit LouisvilleScience.org or call (502) 561-6100.

FORCES OF NATURE is a National Geographic film, produced by Graphic Films, made possible by Amica Insurance and funded in part by the National Science Foundation. FORCES OF NATURE is sponsored locally by WAVE-TV.

Award-winning photographer shooting spring splendor for new Science Center exhibit (March 28, 2005) - No one captures the beauty of Kentucky wildflowers in spring like award-winning wildlife photographer Thomas G. Barnes. This year, when the flowers hit their peak on Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, Barnes will be shooting panoramic scenes for a new interactive exhibit at the Louisville Science Center. On Friday, he will be at Natural Bridge State Park in Slade, Ky., and on Saturday he will be at Griffith Woods near Cynthiana. Plans are weather dependent.

An author, wildlife specialist and renowned photographer, Barnes is an extension professor of forestry at the University of Kentucky, Cooperative Extension Service. He is contributing dozens of photographs to the Louisville Science Center's new permanent exhibit, THE WORLD AROUND US. Scheduled to open in late September, this natural and earth sciences exhibit will showcase Barnes' work in scenic murals and interactive exhibits.

When visitors enter the gallery, they will be nearly surrounded by video screens featuring changing panoramic views of Kentucky and Southern Indiana -- forests, grasslands, caves, swamps, mountains, farms and underground rivers - all photographed by Barnes specifically for this exhibit.
"I am pleased to help the Science Center inform people about the fragile beauty of the state of Kentucky," Barnes said. "When you see the incredible diversity and drama of Kentucky's landscapes, you want to help preserve it for future generations."

At Natural Bridge State Park, Barnes will focus on the stunning and fleeting beauty of Rock Garden Trail, where the hardwood forest's huge boulders are covered with wildflowers. Griffith Woods is a rare section of native Bluegrass savanna with 400-year-old trees.

Barnes is the author of several books, including The Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky and Kentucky's Last Great Places, the basis of a special produced by Kentucky Educational Television. His most recent photography award was from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, and his work has been published in Scientific American as well as other prestigious publications in England, Japan, Australia and Canada.

THE WORLD AROUND US, scheduled to open in late September, will feature dynamic, hands-on exhibits that encourage a deeper understanding of the natural world. The $4.3 million exhibit will encompass 8,000 square feet on the second floor.