COSI
Encyclopedia
COSI, formerly known as the Center of Science and Industry, is a science museum
in Columbus, Ohio
, in the United States
. COSI features more than 300 interactive exhibits throughout themed exhibition areas – Ocean, Space, Gadgets, Life, Little Kidspace, Progress, the outdoor Big Science Park, and the newly opened Lily Pad, a watershed division of Ocean. WOSU
@COSI, began in 2006 and is the first public broadcasting and science center
partnership. In 2009, Parents Magazine named COSI the #1 Science Center for families in the country.
The museum also features exhibit areas that provide experiences for all age levels to combine science facts and learning through play. In addition to its exhibits, COSI has several live shows such as the Electrostatic Generator Show. There is also a seven-story Extreme Screen theater, the Science2GO! retail store, and the Atomicafe restaurant. COSI also hosts traveling exhibitions from other museums throughout the year.
More than five million teachers and students have experienced COSI’s education programs. These outreach education programs are tailored to support national and statewide science curriculum and standards. Programs such as Electronic Education and COSI On Wheels bring science learning to students throughout Ohio and across the country. Camp-In is an overnight program for Girl Scouts
that began in 1972 at COSI. The program has since expanded to Boy Scouts
, and is now duplicated nationwide at other science centers and museums.
As a not-for-profit organization, COSI is supported by ticket sales, a network of community and statewide partnerships, including relationships with a variety of donors, sponsors, 19,000 Member households, and a large volunteer program. COSI reaches more than one million people a year through visits to the museum and outreach activities.
As adopted in 1964... "COSI provides an exciting and informative atmosphere for those of all ages to discover more about our environment, our accomplishments, our heritage, and ourselves. We motivate a desire toward a better understanding of science, industry, health, and history through involvement in exhibits, demonstrations, and a variety of educational activities and experiences. COSI is for the enrichment of the individual and for a more rewarding life on our planet, Earth."
COSI opened on March 29, 1964, as a venture of the Franklin County Historical Society. COSI is a founding member of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative (SMEC) and a long-standing member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
(ASTC). COSI was originally housed in Memorial Hall, a Columbus landmark
that had served as a major performing arts hall since its dedication in 1906. COSI closed its doors at the 280 East Broad Street location and re-opened on November 6, 1999 at a new location on the Scioto
riverfront in downtown Columbus. The building was designed by internationally-renowned architect Arata Isozaki
using the former Central High School along with new construction on the site of the school's football field.
Generous donations by local philanthropists allowed the museum to continue operating, but eventually the red ink began to catch up with COSI. The museum spearheaded an effort to assess a property tax levy, chaired by former NASA
astronaut
John Glenn
. Ultimately the effort failed and caused the museum to lay off large numbers of its staff, some of them longtime employees. An entire wing of the museum was closed and the planetarium
was shut down.
In 2003, COSI's basketball-playing rats, Doris and Edelia appeared on an episode of the Animal Planet
series Pet Star
, accompanied by two of their trainers, Christy Varner and Nathan Bellomy. http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/080804/loc_python8001.shtml, http://dmcknight.com/familypage/nathan2.wmv (Video) The museum's rats had also previously appeared on the show Real People
in 1984.
During the spring and summer of 2005, COSI hosted the blockbuster traveling exhibition "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" and saw record attendance. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, returned to COSI in 2010. In the summer 2006, COSI hosted another large exhibit: "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
", produced by the Museum of Science, Boston
, attracting visitors from 42 of the 50 States as well as Canada
. Various members from the 501st
and Rebel Legion visited COSI to not only view the exhibit but to entertain other guests with their professional Star Wars
costumes.
Since then, COSI has hosted a number of traveling exhibits including Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science (2009). Lost Egypt was produced by COSI in cooperation with the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative, and was built by the Science Museum of Minnesota. Lost Egypt now travels the nation to other museums. COSI has also hosted EINSTEIN, An Exhibition on the Man and his Science (2007), Animation featuring Cartoon Network (2007), Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics (2007), Bob the Builder: Project Build It (2007), Goosebumps! The Science of Fear (2008), CSI: The Experience (2008), Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog (2010), Geckos: From Tail to Toepads (2011), Dinosaurs: Explore. Escape. Survive. (2011) and Dora and Diego - Let's Explore! (2011).
In April 2006 Dr. David Chesebrough, former president and CEO of the Buffalo Museum of Science
, became COSI's new president and CEO, replacing former NASA astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan
, who transitioned to a new role as COSI science advisor, on a volunteer basis, while in her new role as the Director for Ohio State University
's Battelle
Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy.
On September 29, 2006 the WOSU@COSI partnership began. The exhibit includes an interactive chroma key
set where guests can either stand in front of the green screen or control the background image as well as video effects and digital effects. The rest of the WOSU
space hosts offices and studios. The studios have many windows so guests can view the production of radio
shows and the editing and broadcasting of television
shows.
Science museum
A science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. COSI features more than 300 interactive exhibits throughout themed exhibition areas – Ocean, Space, Gadgets, Life, Little Kidspace, Progress, the outdoor Big Science Park, and the newly opened Lily Pad, a watershed division of Ocean. WOSU
WOSU
WOSU may refer to:* WOSU Public Media, a nonprofit broadcasting organisation* The WOSU Stations, a group of broadcasting stations administered by WOSU Public Media:...
@COSI, began in 2006 and is the first public broadcasting and science center
Science center
A science center or science centre is a science museum that emphasizes a hands-on approach, featuring interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to experiment and explore....
partnership. In 2009, Parents Magazine named COSI the #1 Science Center for families in the country.
The museum also features exhibit areas that provide experiences for all age levels to combine science facts and learning through play. In addition to its exhibits, COSI has several live shows such as the Electrostatic Generator Show. There is also a seven-story Extreme Screen theater, the Science2GO! retail store, and the Atomicafe restaurant. COSI also hosts traveling exhibitions from other museums throughout the year.
More than five million teachers and students have experienced COSI’s education programs. These outreach education programs are tailored to support national and statewide science curriculum and standards. Programs such as Electronic Education and COSI On Wheels bring science learning to students throughout Ohio and across the country. Camp-In is an overnight program for Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
that began in 1972 at COSI. The program has since expanded to Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, and is now duplicated nationwide at other science centers and museums.
As a not-for-profit organization, COSI is supported by ticket sales, a network of community and statewide partnerships, including relationships with a variety of donors, sponsors, 19,000 Member households, and a large volunteer program. COSI reaches more than one million people a year through visits to the museum and outreach activities.
Mission statement
History
Association of Science-Technology Centers
The Association of Science-Technology Centers is an international organization of science centers and science museums. Members are located in more than 40 countries...
(ASTC). COSI was originally housed in Memorial Hall, a Columbus landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
that had served as a major performing arts hall since its dedication in 1906. COSI closed its doors at the 280 East Broad Street location and re-opened on November 6, 1999 at a new location on the Scioto
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
riverfront in downtown Columbus. The building was designed by internationally-renowned architect Arata Isozaki
Arata Isozaki
Arata Isozaki is a Japanese architect from Ōita. He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1954. Isozaki worked under Kenzo Tange before establishing his own firm in 1963. He was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1986.In 2005, Arata Isozaki founded the Italian branch of his office: Arata Isozaki &...
using the former Central High School along with new construction on the site of the school's football field.
Generous donations by local philanthropists allowed the museum to continue operating, but eventually the red ink began to catch up with COSI. The museum spearheaded an effort to assess a property tax levy, chaired by former NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
. Ultimately the effort failed and caused the museum to lay off large numbers of its staff, some of them longtime employees. An entire wing of the museum was closed and the planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
was shut down.
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
series Pet Star
Pet Star
Pet Star was a show on Animal Planet hosted by Mario Lopez.The show is a contest between owners and their trained pets who perform tricks. The tricks are graded by three celebrity judges on a scale of one to 10....
, accompanied by two of their trainers, Christy Varner and Nathan Bellomy. http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/080804/loc_python8001.shtml, http://dmcknight.com/familypage/nathan2.wmv (Video) The museum's rats had also previously appeared on the show Real People
Real People
Real People is an NBC reality television series that aired from 1979 to 1984, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central Time Zones.-Synopsis:...
in 1984.
During the spring and summer of 2005, COSI hosted the blockbuster traveling exhibition "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" and saw record attendance. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, returned to COSI in 2010. In the summer 2006, COSI hosted another large exhibit: "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination is a traveling exhibition created by the Museum of Science, Boston, featuring props and costumes used in the Star Wars films, but focusing primarily on the science behind George Lucas' science fiction-fantasy epic...
", produced by the Museum of Science, Boston
Museum of Science, Boston
The Museum of Science is a Boston, Massachusetts landmark, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 500 interactive exhibits, the Museum features a number of live presentations throughout the building every day, along with shows at the Charles Hayden...
, attracting visitors from 42 of the 50 States as well as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Various members from the 501st
501st Legion
The 501st Legion is an international fan-based organization dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of Imperial Stormtrooper armor, Imperial officer uniforms, Clone Troopers and other villains and nefarious characters from the Star Wars universe...
and Rebel Legion visited COSI to not only view the exhibit but to entertain other guests with their professional Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
costumes.
Since then, COSI has hosted a number of traveling exhibits including Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science (2009). Lost Egypt was produced by COSI in cooperation with the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative, and was built by the Science Museum of Minnesota. Lost Egypt now travels the nation to other museums. COSI has also hosted EINSTEIN, An Exhibition on the Man and his Science (2007), Animation featuring Cartoon Network (2007), Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics (2007), Bob the Builder: Project Build It (2007), Goosebumps! The Science of Fear (2008), CSI: The Experience (2008), Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog (2010), Geckos: From Tail to Toepads (2011), Dinosaurs: Explore. Escape. Survive. (2011) and Dora and Diego - Let's Explore! (2011).
In April 2006 Dr. David Chesebrough, former president and CEO of the Buffalo Museum of Science
Buffalo Museum of Science
Buffalo Museum of Science is a science museum located at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in Buffalo, New York USA, northeast of the downtown district, near the Kensington Expressway. The historic building was designed by August Esenwein and James A. Johnson and opened in 1929...
, became COSI's new president and CEO, replacing former NASA astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan
Kathryn D. Sullivan
Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan is an American geologist and a former NASA astronaut. A crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, she is the first American woman to walk in space.-Education:...
, who transitioned to a new role as COSI science advisor, on a volunteer basis, while in her new role as the Director for Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
's Battelle
Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio and is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the...
Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy.
On September 29, 2006 the WOSU@COSI partnership began. The exhibit includes an interactive chroma key
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
set where guests can either stand in front of the green screen or control the background image as well as video effects and digital effects. The rest of the WOSU
WOSU
WOSU may refer to:* WOSU Public Media, a nonprofit broadcasting organisation* The WOSU Stations, a group of broadcasting stations administered by WOSU Public Media:...
space hosts offices and studios. The studios have many windows so guests can view the production of radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
shows and the editing and broadcasting of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows.
Operating Statistics
| Year | Total Attendance Recorded | Cost of Admission |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 172,215 | |
| 1974 | 191,755 | |
| 1976 | 263,039 | |
| 1978 | $1.50 | |
| 1980 | 300,000 | |
| 1982 | 320,000 | |
| 1983 | $3.50 | |
| 1984 | 393,415 | |
| 1986 | 519,163 | |
| 1987 | 666,017 | |
| 1990 | 694,012 | |
| 1992 | 719,693 | |
| 1996 | $6.00 | |
| 1999 | $12.00 |