Liberty Science Center: Reinventing the Science Museum
October 12, 2009 by admin
Filed under Destinations
Ann Knapp asked:
From its unique approach to engaging people in real science, to its goal of positively influencing communities to take action to improve our world, the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City has been re-invented to enhance educational travel and inspire student groups in scientific literacy and understanding.
Science museums first appeared in the early 1800s, with a focus on collecting, researching, and presenting artifacts in an attempt to understand the past. In the 1960s, science museums sought to entertain and engage their audiences – increasing scientific literacy and understanding. Today, many science centers are focused solely on interactivity. The newly reinvented Liberty Science Center has placed its efforts on encouraging actual science activism, acting as a resource and catalyst to advance the realm of science, technology, and society.
Enhanced by its historic and cosmopolitan location, which overlooks Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Science Center strives to inspire student tours in understanding the continuing connection between scientific advances and how they improve the human condition.
For instance, the center’s “Live From Robotic Surgery” program uses live teleconferencing to take students into the O.R. where they interact directly with surgeons and witness how the advances of science and technology benefit humans. Program offerings include topics on cardiology, neurosurgery, and kidney transplant. Other programs include lab workshops in a state-of-the-art laboratory where students embark on an interactive learning experience led by a knowledgeable science educator.
As students explore the new Liberty Science Center, they encounter “Skyscraper!”, an unprecedented look at the planning, design, and technology of these amazing structures. Whether walking a steel girder high above the exhibit floor, facing down jet-powered hurricane force winds to test a building design, or taking a quiet moment to reflect on the destruction of the World Trade Center, “Skyscraper!” leaves students with a new appreciation and altered view of the impressive skyline that surrounds the center.
“Infection Connection” describes how the choices we make on a daily basis contribute to the rise and fall of infectious diseases. In this exhibit, students explore interactions between humans and microbes, learn about emerging diseases, and see how science develops tools and technologies to prevent and treat infections. Student tours can even conduct microbiology and epidemiology experiments in the center’s own laboratory.
While most of the exhibits in the center are brand new, students can still see some familiar favorites from the earlier days in “Wonder Why: Observe, Imagine, Create.” Exhibits highlights include the fossil-studded Rock Climbing Wall, observing the attributes of air at the Bernoulli Blower, or creating a masterpiece in the Digital Darkroom.
Science comes to life in demonstrations offered live in the center’s exhibition galleries. Student group travelers have the opportunity to participate and ask questions of a science educator on topics that correlate with the exhibits. For instance, students learn how to be an amateur surveyor using actual surveying equipment or learn the steps required to create a sterile environment in the operating room while performing live surgery on a (vegetative) patient. Or, they may experience first hand how lasers work and discover some of the ways lasers are used in daily life.
In the Liberty Science Center IMAX Dome Theater, student tours journey into ancient tombs or observe the surface of Mars during their scheduled film showings. In the Digital 3D Theater, the story of NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory mission unfolds, told through the eyes of key NASA participants. The film features the first stunning 3D images ever captured of the sun and explains the vital knowledge the science community will gain from the mission.
The Liberty Science Center offers a variety of educational programs based on age and interest level. Some of the more popular choices include lab workshops, which are held in a state-of-the-art laboratory, where students embark on learning experiences, ranging from meteorology to New Jersey wildlife, with a science educator. Enhanced Experiences allows groups to choose an onsite experience and dig deeper into one of the center’s new exhibitions, or pick an outdoor experience and learn about the Hudson River estuary.
From its unique approach to engaging people in real science, to its goal of positively influencing communities to take action to improve our world, the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City has been re-invented to enhance educational travel and inspire student groups in scientific literacy and understanding.
Science museums first appeared in the early 1800s, with a focus on collecting, researching, and presenting artifacts in an attempt to understand the past. In the 1960s, science museums sought to entertain and engage their audiences – increasing scientific literacy and understanding. Today, many science centers are focused solely on interactivity. The newly reinvented Liberty Science Center has placed its efforts on encouraging actual science activism, acting as a resource and catalyst to advance the realm of science, technology, and society.
Enhanced by its historic and cosmopolitan location, which overlooks Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Science Center strives to inspire student tours in understanding the continuing connection between scientific advances and how they improve the human condition.
For instance, the center’s “Live From Robotic Surgery” program uses live teleconferencing to take students into the O.R. where they interact directly with surgeons and witness how the advances of science and technology benefit humans. Program offerings include topics on cardiology, neurosurgery, and kidney transplant. Other programs include lab workshops in a state-of-the-art laboratory where students embark on an interactive learning experience led by a knowledgeable science educator.
As students explore the new Liberty Science Center, they encounter “Skyscraper!”, an unprecedented look at the planning, design, and technology of these amazing structures. Whether walking a steel girder high above the exhibit floor, facing down jet-powered hurricane force winds to test a building design, or taking a quiet moment to reflect on the destruction of the World Trade Center, “Skyscraper!” leaves students with a new appreciation and altered view of the impressive skyline that surrounds the center.
“Infection Connection” describes how the choices we make on a daily basis contribute to the rise and fall of infectious diseases. In this exhibit, students explore interactions between humans and microbes, learn about emerging diseases, and see how science develops tools and technologies to prevent and treat infections. Student tours can even conduct microbiology and epidemiology experiments in the center’s own laboratory.
While most of the exhibits in the center are brand new, students can still see some familiar favorites from the earlier days in “Wonder Why: Observe, Imagine, Create.” Exhibits highlights include the fossil-studded Rock Climbing Wall, observing the attributes of air at the Bernoulli Blower, or creating a masterpiece in the Digital Darkroom.
Science comes to life in demonstrations offered live in the center’s exhibition galleries. Student group travelers have the opportunity to participate and ask questions of a science educator on topics that correlate with the exhibits. For instance, students learn how to be an amateur surveyor using actual surveying equipment or learn the steps required to create a sterile environment in the operating room while performing live surgery on a (vegetative) patient. Or, they may experience first hand how lasers work and discover some of the ways lasers are used in daily life.
In the Liberty Science Center IMAX Dome Theater, student tours journey into ancient tombs or observe the surface of Mars during their scheduled film showings. In the Digital 3D Theater, the story of NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory mission unfolds, told through the eyes of key NASA participants. The film features the first stunning 3D images ever captured of the sun and explains the vital knowledge the science community will gain from the mission.
The Liberty Science Center offers a variety of educational programs based on age and interest level. Some of the more popular choices include lab workshops, which are held in a state-of-the-art laboratory, where students embark on learning experiences, ranging from meteorology to New Jersey wildlife, with a science educator. Enhanced Experiences allows groups to choose an onsite experience and dig deeper into one of the center’s new exhibitions, or pick an outdoor experience and learn about the Hudson River estuary.
Liberty Science Center In NYC Offers Student Tour Organizers A Great Time
Ann Knapp asked:
Teachers looking for an outstanding experience when they take their students to New York City won’t want to miss the Liberty Science Center, located in nearby Jersey City, New Jersey.
With a rich assortment of educational experiences inside, students will be talking about their trip for years to come.
From the minute they step inside one of the state-of-the-art laboratories, students will begin a hands-on learning experience led by knowledgeable science educators. Inquiry-based investigations facilitate comprehension of sometimes complex subject matter, with subjects ranging from native wildlife to chemistry to watersheds to the properties of light and many other areas of science.
One option is to take a comprehensive look at an exhibition gallery in great depth with a science educator, reinforcing the exploration through a hands-on lesson related to the exhibition, have the time to ask and have questions answered.
In the middle of one of the most densely populated areas in the world lies an ecological haven known as Liberty State Park. Teachers and students can go out in the field, where they’ll learn about the plants, animals, habitats and geology of the Hudson River Estuary, as well as the impact of humans on the river, all with a choice of land-based or on-the river experiences.
In “Live From . . .” the Liberty Science Center brings teachers and students the thrill of real-time interactive videoconferencing with a series of hospital surgical suites, featuring cardiac, neurosurgery, kidney transplant and robotic surgery experiences. Students get to witness firsthand the sights and sounds of surgery and benefit from having a surgical team of doctors, nurses, technicians and physician assistants answer their questions, even while they are doing their jobs.
Students watch the surgery on a large screen in the Liberty Science Center’s interactive theater, with staff educators facilitating the experience of learning about surgical procedures, the equipment and devices used, education paths leading to careers in medical professions and healthy lifestyle choices.
In Partners in Science, students at the Liberty Science Center go beyond textbooks and school-based labs by immersing themselves in authentic scientific research conducted by professional scientists. The intensive, eight-week summer experience for high school juniors and seniors pairs students with mentor scientists and challenges them to participate in on-going research and independent projects. Through Partners in Science, students are exposed to current questions driving scientific discovery in real laboratory settings. They also develop a network of advisors and lifelong connections that help them identify and focus their career goals.
People live in them, work in them, and stare at them. They’re skyscrapers and they’re an integral part of our lives and community. As works of art and expressions of human aspiration, they inspire, drawing us to understanding, making skyscrapers a perfect teaching point.
The Liberty Science Center’s 12,800-square-foot Skyscraper! Achievement and Impact exhibit is the most comprehensive single exhibition ever presented on the topic. With multimedia, full-body kinetic experiences and experiment-based lab stations, visitors will learn about the planning, design, engineering and construction plus explore the environments that are created and changed when massive buildings go up.
Several additional displays offer students great opportunities to explore various aspects of science, all in a spirit of learning by touching.
Among the exhibits to look forward to:
Infection Connection: Where students explore interactions between microbes and humans, learn about emerging diseases, and see how science develops tools and technologies to prevent and treat them. They can even conduct microbiology and epidemiology experiments in a laboratory environment.
Communication: How people communicate, not only with advanced multimedia and personal communication devices, but with our bodies, language and symbolism.
Our Hudson Home: A hands-on learning experience that highlights the balance required for commerce, recreation and environmental preservation to co-exist in everyday life.
Eat and Be Eaten: Filled with scores of live animals, visitors understand and explore the complex interaction that has been elegantly called the “circle of life.”
Breakthroughs: A fitting exhibition for our fast-changing world; an interactive, multimedia experience featuring exhibits and programs that address current issues and events in science and technology.
Energy Quest: Students take a journey through the five major sources of Earth’s energy, learning about the many methods humans have used to explore and harness these energy sources.
Teachers looking for an outstanding experience when they take their students to New York City won’t want to miss the Liberty Science Center, located in nearby Jersey City, New Jersey.
With a rich assortment of educational experiences inside, students will be talking about their trip for years to come.
From the minute they step inside one of the state-of-the-art laboratories, students will begin a hands-on learning experience led by knowledgeable science educators. Inquiry-based investigations facilitate comprehension of sometimes complex subject matter, with subjects ranging from native wildlife to chemistry to watersheds to the properties of light and many other areas of science.
One option is to take a comprehensive look at an exhibition gallery in great depth with a science educator, reinforcing the exploration through a hands-on lesson related to the exhibition, have the time to ask and have questions answered.
In the middle of one of the most densely populated areas in the world lies an ecological haven known as Liberty State Park. Teachers and students can go out in the field, where they’ll learn about the plants, animals, habitats and geology of the Hudson River Estuary, as well as the impact of humans on the river, all with a choice of land-based or on-the river experiences.
In “Live From . . .” the Liberty Science Center brings teachers and students the thrill of real-time interactive videoconferencing with a series of hospital surgical suites, featuring cardiac, neurosurgery, kidney transplant and robotic surgery experiences. Students get to witness firsthand the sights and sounds of surgery and benefit from having a surgical team of doctors, nurses, technicians and physician assistants answer their questions, even while they are doing their jobs.
Students watch the surgery on a large screen in the Liberty Science Center’s interactive theater, with staff educators facilitating the experience of learning about surgical procedures, the equipment and devices used, education paths leading to careers in medical professions and healthy lifestyle choices.
In Partners in Science, students at the Liberty Science Center go beyond textbooks and school-based labs by immersing themselves in authentic scientific research conducted by professional scientists. The intensive, eight-week summer experience for high school juniors and seniors pairs students with mentor scientists and challenges them to participate in on-going research and independent projects. Through Partners in Science, students are exposed to current questions driving scientific discovery in real laboratory settings. They also develop a network of advisors and lifelong connections that help them identify and focus their career goals.
People live in them, work in them, and stare at them. They’re skyscrapers and they’re an integral part of our lives and community. As works of art and expressions of human aspiration, they inspire, drawing us to understanding, making skyscrapers a perfect teaching point.
The Liberty Science Center’s 12,800-square-foot Skyscraper! Achievement and Impact exhibit is the most comprehensive single exhibition ever presented on the topic. With multimedia, full-body kinetic experiences and experiment-based lab stations, visitors will learn about the planning, design, engineering and construction plus explore the environments that are created and changed when massive buildings go up.
Several additional displays offer students great opportunities to explore various aspects of science, all in a spirit of learning by touching.
Among the exhibits to look forward to:
Infection Connection: Where students explore interactions between microbes and humans, learn about emerging diseases, and see how science develops tools and technologies to prevent and treat them. They can even conduct microbiology and epidemiology experiments in a laboratory environment.
Communication: How people communicate, not only with advanced multimedia and personal communication devices, but with our bodies, language and symbolism.
Our Hudson Home: A hands-on learning experience that highlights the balance required for commerce, recreation and environmental preservation to co-exist in everyday life.
Eat and Be Eaten: Filled with scores of live animals, visitors understand and explore the complex interaction that has been elegantly called the “circle of life.”
Breakthroughs: A fitting exhibition for our fast-changing world; an interactive, multimedia experience featuring exhibits and programs that address current issues and events in science and technology.
Energy Quest: Students take a journey through the five major sources of Earth’s energy, learning about the many methods humans have used to explore and harness these energy sources.
