Page 25 - BusinessWest August 19, 2024

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“The overarching goal of the new, reimagined dinosaur experience is
to establish the Science Museum as home to the flagship dinosaur destination in New England, as well as the regional center for STEM education.”
Museums
ally and figuratively.
The experience will start before visitors enter the front door
of the Welcome Center, she noted, adding that a large T-rex will appear to burst out of the exterior wall of the building, setting the tone for play and learning. Two smaller juveniles will appear to con- gregate near the doors, inviting visitor engagement.
Once inside the Welcome Center, visitors will hear the dinosaurs even as they get their admission tickets, she went on, adding that visitors will enter a completely renovated Dinosaur Hall, which will feature a new, animatronic T-rex that moves and roars. It will be surrounded by hatching baby dinosaurs hidden behind simulated reeds, which visitors can discover as they move through the hall.
Meanwhile, important fossils will be showcased in the reno- vated space to help tell stories of local paleontology. An elevated observation deck will enable visitors to walk around the T-rex as well as to look down on the exhibitions, allowing for a high level of interactivity.
From Dinosaur Hall, visitors will enter an immersive display that explores archosaurs, the animal group from which dinosaurs evolved. The exhibit will feature flying dinosaurs, erupting volca- noes, and interactive games that connect dinosaurs to current life on earth.
“The overarching goal of the new, reimagined dinosaur experi- ence is to establish the Science Museum as home to the flagship dinosaur destination in New England, as well as the regional cen- ter for STEM education,” Simpson explained. “We anticipate that we will increase our annual attendance by 25% with our enhanced dinosaur experience.”
Campbell agreed, noting that the Science Museum is the sec- ond-most popular attraction at the Quadrangle behind the Seuss museum, and the planned improvements could generate another significant boost in visitorship.
And another way to tell prospective visitors, “oh, the places you’ll go.” BW
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“We want to do more to tell the story of Springfield and its peo- ple,” Simpson said, adding that these efforts are very much a work in process, with grants to be pursued for various initiatives. “Pre- viously, we focused on industry and objects, but I think it’s really important, especially as the city changes, and as part of the work we’re doing with inclusion, to tell all of the stories, starting with Indigenous people, but also historic Black Springfield, the Latino population and the growth of that community, as well as other communities.
“It’s a reinterpretation of the history that is told in the Wood museum,” she went on. “People relate to people, so we need to inte- grate that into what is being presented in that museum.”
Meanwhile, and as noted earlier, one of the key focal points of the current strategic plan is the Science Museum, said Keroack, noting there have been many improvements and more on the way.
Keroack grew up in Springfield, and in his youth, he was a fre- quent visitor to the Museums and especially the Science Museum.
“I was a bit of a nerd,” he recalled, adding that he was drawn to the fish tanks, dioramas, and physical exhibits. That museum remains a real draw for young people, he said, but it has been in need of a refresh, as he called it, and it is getting one.
The planetarium has been completely renovated, noted Simp- son, adding that while the Korkosz projector — the oldest operat- ing American-made projector in the world — is still used in the planetarium presentation, the facility now boasts a full-dome video system, creating immersive experiences in astronomy and earth science.
Meanwhile, the Museums were recently granted the long-term loan of a large, touch-screen, interactive virtual tour of the Interna- tional Space Station.
“The second floor of the Science Museum has been progres- sively transformed,” said Simpson, adding that there are plans for a reimagined dinosaur experience that has many moving parts, liter-
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