NEXTpittsburgh: The Carnegie Science Center has announced a $21 million expansion along the North Shore that enhances the riverfront and provides lots of new classroom space for kids. The 48,000-square-foot three-story addition will also include Smithsonian-quality exhibition space, special event space, and terraces on the ground and third floors.
11 comments:
This is exciting to me for a couple of reasons. First, I was totally the kid who wanted to go to all of the science centers in every city my family visited. And we did. I even have pretty vague memories of coming to the Carnegie Science Center when my family vacationed in Pittsburgh way back before college was something for me to start seriously considering (why a family from a Connecticut suburb of New York City would choose to vacation in Pittsburgh, I still don’t know, but obviously the city made a good impression on us and me). Science centers can do for hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of kids what they did for me and foster interest in understanding how are universe works. I don’t care who you are or what you do, having a basic curiosity and understanding (and it should be both) of science works can only benefit you in life. But secondly, and this is also very exciting to me, as people who design, build, and manage, theatrical events, we also have the capability to do the same for showroom floors and exhibits in museums, contributing to the experience that long ago (or perhaps not) helped shape who we are and how we look at life. This is how we in the theatrical community help humanity get to mars, by making it way to cool for the kids who become the scientists who make that happen to lose interest in that goal.
Does our tuition go into the Carnegie Science Center? Thats not meant to be a sassy question, I honestly am just curious about the affiliation with out school. Anyway, I have always been a nerd and love science centers. Like Alex mentions in his comment above, when I was a child I would always make my parents stop at some kind of science center when we traveled. Curiosity is an innate human characteristics and I think anyway to foster that in children and adults is worth the money. I remember going to different Science Centers, and probably the Carnegie one when I was younger, and love how interactive everything was and the design of building. In high school I took some kids that I was babysitting to a local Science Center and I still loved it. I think that the more updated Science Centers can be the better, because although classic things like a hurricane simulation are interesting I think that if Carnegie can have robots and new technology they will be competitive in the niche industry for customers but also just exposing kids at a young age to the newest and latest research is the best way for STEM to continually expand and explore.
This extension look really amazing. Its exciting that we are going to have a Smithsonian quality gallery space and classrooms so close to our school. I wonder if the high quality to extent to any research rooms and labs attached to the center and if our school will collaborate and send students there to learn. I love going to interactive science museum, and not even just when I was a kid. My sister, cousin and I wen to the one in Chicago and it was just as fun now as it was when I was little. I’m excited to see the new features and exhibits that take advantage of today’s technology. I’m especially excited about all the classrooms that open up to the riverfront because that will be gorgeous and a good view for the chemistry and biology learning that is connected to river science. I wonder if it opening up to the river front actually means you can walk from the classroom space directly to the river and get a real life example of what you are learning about.
I am all about this expansion. The Carnegie Science Center was one of the first places that I remember going on a field trip and it has a very special place in my heart. There are certain attractions that there whenever I go back, but what brings me there every time is the rotating “special” exhibit. For a while a few years ago, I talked to a few people about the Science Center and they said that nothing has ever changed there and they have no desire to go. Hopefully, this expansion will change that and bring the fresh face that the Science Center needs. It’s also extremely refreshing to hear that an educational organization is looking to expand and actually add classroom space (cough, cough) and improve the space around it that community at large uses. I truly hope that this expansion goes well and increases attendance and image for the Carnegie Science Center.
This is really awesome. I didn’t actually know the Carnegie Science Center had classrooms and classes, though it makes sense when you think about it. The one time I visited (last year), the young ages of the other visitors both impressed me and made me feel old. I wish the article had included some pictures of what the science center currently looks like, though, because it’s hard to tell the differences when you only have images of “after” to look at. I had to look up some images online to gauge the differences, and they are pretty huge and very exciting. I certainly think the changes will also bring new aesthetic touches to the science center, making it so much more visually pleasing. The rendered glass window design also is very sleek and professional, a reflection of the growing science-based, technological, architectural and design-based communities here in Pittsburgh. I hope these changes are implemented soon because I look forwards to visiting once it is all built!
I think that these renovations to the Science center sound like exactly what the center needs to step to the next level. On previous visits to the science center I have loved how interactive it has been and how diverse the exhibits are. I think however, the involvement of more traveling exhibits would help to round out the experience even more. I think that the addition of more classrooms is great. I am not exactly sure what the center uses them for but it is cool how they have seen a greater want for education in science and are accommodating that need. I also think that its a great idea to use their location to the best of its ability. It is a beautiful view of the city from right across the water that can give the center a unique edge.
Overall, I think that the new plans for the center provide great opportunity to better the quality of the science center and all they represent.
What better way to expand a building made for the purpose of appreciating science than by focusing a new design on highlighting the natural attributes of the pre-existing land around it. There is so much to be said of architecture which yields to the land on which it is built, rather than manipulating it or even ignoring it. The fact that the Carnegie Science Center has created all this new space for the growth of scientific discovery and ultimately the betterment of the world which that science seeks to understand by taking advantage of the natural landscape of an already technologically and scientifically driven city is both commendable and exciting. It is equally exciting to see them opening up the architecture of their building to more than dedicated enthusiasts - the fact that it will invite more traffic from the riverfront and greater enjoyment of visits in general is a sign of the Center's efforts to make science a joy to all, and I hope that this will continue to be a theme for their growth in the future.
When reading this article I was surprised that the Carnegie Science Center has not been brought up to the American Disabilities Act Standards. I would have felt that making the center accessible would have already been done. I wonder what schools with children in wheelchairs do when they go to the museum. Is the child forced to miss out on events their classmates get to enjoy? I hope that this expansion allows kids with disabilities to join in with their classmates and friends. Nevertheless, is great that there are going to more STEM programs for children in Pittsburgh. When children are engaged in the sciences early on, they gain a better understanding and perspective on the world they live in. They can understand why the world works the way it does. I also hope that the interested children not only get the join on programs but that they get to see the traveling exhibits and that they no longer pass through Pittsburgh. The new additions to the Carnegie Science Center sounds amazing and I hope that children get to experience and enjoy the new additions.
The last time I visited the Carnegie Science center was about two years ago. Of course that was when I had a little bit of free time. It was definitely a good experience going there, so much to do, even if some of it was for those perhaps a bit younger. That’s what makes it so great, because you are never too old to learn something new, but most of it for the most part was refreshing of the different things I had learned from years past. This expansion unfortunately will end up finishing after I have left the school, so I won’t be able to see the new renovation. Without a doubt you can never know too much about science, and it will be interesting to see what they end up putting into the new expansion. They give a brief summary, but nothing in much detail which I’m guessing they don’t want to reveal too much yet.
This is a very exciting expansion for an already-fascinating museum. I have loved science museums my whole life, so a few days before moving into Mudge my freshman year, my family and I took a trip to check it out. It really is up there with the Boston Science Museum in my mind, which is a really great museum and the center of my childhood field trip memories. I think this expansion is a fantastic idea, especially for the education of children in science. I am always happy to see any kind of effort to bring science to the forefront of children's education- to be able to spark new interests in them while they are young is so important. I love that the expansion will include opportunities to really experience the things they are learning up close. It reminds me a bit of the Kieve center in Maine, where my fifth grade class went on a four-day trip together to learn about nature and animals in the woods. It was a really hands-on way to learn, and it's never left me. I hope that this expansion will serve a similar function for the kids who will experience it in the coming years.
This sounds totally cool! The Carnegie Science Center was one of my favorite places to go as a child, and actually still is. This is one of the main reasons why I love it so much. Everyone who goes to the Science Center has a good time. It is basically impossible to go to the Science Center and not enjoy yourself. This is because there really is a little something for everyone. If you want to run around there is a space for that. If you want to watch a cool movie in a true IMAX you can do that. This new feature will create even more fun for the people who visit the Science Center. The thing that I always forget is how educational this fun experience is. There are so many things that I have learned thanks to the Science Center, that I would not have none if I did not go.
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