The Discovery Trail: A look inside the Sciencenter

By Eric Banford

 

The Discovery Trail is a museum-library partnership between eight member organizations that have been collaborating for nearly two decades to help visitors explore nature, science, and culture. Each month, we’ll be exploring one of the sites, highlighting their offerings and taking a look at their impact in the community.

Discovery Trail partners include Cayuga Nature Center, Cornell Botanic Gardens, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell, Museum of the Earth, Sciencenter, The History Center in Tompkins County, and Tompkins County Public Library.

This month we focus on the Sciencenter, a non-profit hands-on science museum located at 601 First Street in Ithaca. The Sciencenter has grown from its early days as a volunteer-run science program at a local elementary school to a nationally recognized museum which hosts 100,000 visitors each year, while also reaching over 1.5 million guests worldwide through their traveling exhibitions and outreach programs.

“One of the nice advantages of the Discovery Trail is it’s very easy for organizations to collaborate because we are in fairly constant contact with one another, allowing us to talk about where we can really work together,” said Monika Collins, Sr. Director of External Relations for the Sciencenter. “We’re trying to think longer-term and more strategically about how to build those partnerships for tourism, like by offering a city pass or other ideas, so we can continue to flourish.”

Each Discovery Trail partner hosts a specific school grade for Kids Discover the Trail! (KDT!), coordinating a visit to the partner, along with classroom materials to support the visit, and free passes for follow up visits.

“The Sciencenter hosts all of the second-grade classes in Tompkins County through the KDT! program,” said Collins. “Last year we saw 707 second graders, and this program has been the impetus behind the Sciencenter moving out into surrounding counties. Last year with support from Cargill we started field trips for all of the kids in Cayuga County, and additionally, we see all of the second graders from Cortland County. So it’s a very full and big program,” she added.

“The KDT! program at the Sciencenter is called Power the Future; students learn about engineering, energy, and power through a hands-on windmill building activity,” noted Star Bressler, Executive Director of the Discovery Trail. “Students also take home a pass allowing their family to visit free of charge; last year 54 passes were redeemed for 183 total admissions. We are thrilled that all second-graders (attending public schools) in Tompkins County visit the Sciencenter,” said Bressler.

“This program is often one of the first touch-points for getting kids and families engaged with the Sciencenter,” added Collins. “They come for the field trip, and there’s pre and post activities in their classrooms. We provide passes for them to return with their families, and we provide information on our membership program, including a free program for low-income families.”

The hope is that the Sciencenter is viewed not as a one-time visit but more as a holistic engagement that families can return to frequently, according to Collins. The exhibits change regularly, there’s a full calendar of interactive events to participate in, and a free email newsletter is available to notify families of upcoming opportunities.

In talking with all of the partners in the Discovery Trail, one thing that each partner mentioned was the advantage that collaboration provided. “We meet regularly to talk about how to take advantage of tourism opportunities, how to bolster the Discovery Trail, and how to collectively impact the community,” said Collins. “It can be all of the partners, pairs or three partners working together.”

“Each Discovery Trail partner individually does wonderful work and are certainly a benefit to our community,” continued Collins. “Our missions aren’t 100 percent aligned, but there are definitely points of cohesion and collaboration that can happen with each of us at different points.”

Collins also pointed out that programs aren’t always just focused on kids. “We recently have done joint programming with the Museum of the Earth and the History Center for a series called ‘The History and Science of Craft Beverages’ aimed towards adults, which is a nice way to showcase the work that we all do in a fun and engaging way,” she said. This series continues Sept. 26 at the Sciencenter with ‘The Science of Beer Making’ and then culminates Dec. 12 with a guided Craft Beverage and Food pairing at Coltivare.

A fun collaboration with the Cornell Botanic Gardens is in the works to create a traveling exhibition called “Wicked Plants” which will highlight poisonous plants. “It will be a sort of Harry Potteresque themed mansion with different rooms,” said Collins. “We’re working with Wizarding Weekend to fold it into that whole experience.”
For more information, visit sciencenter.org or call (607) 272-0600.