Exploration Place
Encyclopedia
Exploration Place is a modern hands-on science museum, located in the Delano Neighborhood and Museums on the River district in Wichita
, Kansas
, United States
.
In 2005, after a steady decline in attendance, the museum requested permanent county aid, and in October of that year Sedgwick County commissioners approved a four-year plan to assume control. Since then, a series of popular traveling exhibits has boosted membership, with the fiscal year ending in 2009 showing a 10% increase.
of Boston designed the building. There are 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) and 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) on the property. The tallest point of the building is the peak of the roof of the traveling exhibits space and is 70 feet (21.3 m) above the floor (nearly 7 stories high). The combined distance around the interior perimeter of both buildings is approximately one mile.
The "Island Building" is named because it is surrounded by water, with the Arkansas River
on one side and the reflecting pond on the other. The reflecting pond is between the buildings to create the illusion that looks like the river runs between the buildings. The reflecting pond is one to three feet deep. Even though the building is so close to the river it is not prone to flooding because it is above the 100-year flood level. During the flood in October 1998, the worst in recent history, the water level was still more than 8 feet (2.4 m) below the finished floor level.
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
During the 1980s, a plan to consolidate the city-owned Wichita Omnisphere and Science Center and the Children's Museum of Wichita was proposed. In 1992, a capital funds campaign was launched, and with an endowment from Velma Lunt Wallace, funds from the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County, and other donations, the museum opened in the spring of 2000.In 2005, after a steady decline in attendance, the museum requested permanent county aid, and in October of that year Sedgwick County commissioners approved a four-year plan to assume control. Since then, a series of popular traveling exhibits has boosted membership, with the fiscal year ending in 2009 showing a 10% increase.
The Building
Construction began May 1997 and took 2 ½ years. Internationally acclaimed architect Moshe SafdieMoshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
of Boston designed the building. There are 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) and 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) on the property. The tallest point of the building is the peak of the roof of the traveling exhibits space and is 70 feet (21.3 m) above the floor (nearly 7 stories high). The combined distance around the interior perimeter of both buildings is approximately one mile.
The "Island Building" is named because it is surrounded by water, with the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
on one side and the reflecting pond on the other. The reflecting pond is between the buildings to create the illusion that looks like the river runs between the buildings. The reflecting pond is one to three feet deep. Even though the building is so close to the river it is not prone to flooding because it is above the 100-year flood level. During the flood in October 1998, the worst in recent history, the water level was still more than 8 feet (2.4 m) below the finished floor level.
Exhibits
- The Kids' Explore area, which currently houses a three-story castle in which children can play
- A "Tots' Spot" play area for toddlers.
- Traveling exhibits - An area which has housed Sue the Tyrannosaurus rex and the famous RMS Titanic artifact exhibit and which was the first museum in the United States to host the Virtual Codex Atlanticus, a collection of Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da VinciLeonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's works presented in virtual form. Also is currently (July 2010) home to GrossologyGrossologyGrossology may refer to:* Grossology , a series of non-fictional children's books written by Sylvia Branzei* Grossology , a Canadian animated TV series...
: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body and Much More Munsch. - Kansas in Miniature, a small-scale recreation of early-1950s KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. - A Kansas exhibit filled with the flora and fauna native to the area, including a wide array of animals such as reptiles, amphibians and arachnids/insects/arthropods.
- The Boeing "Exploring Flight and Design" flight exhibit which includes flight simulators and a giant "wind wall" made of thousands of tiny reflective discs that show air currents generated by the many propellers in the room.
- The FETCH! Lab is located just off of Flight and Design.