|
|
|
|
S C I E N C E W O R K S
As the Kirlin Foundation hopes to be
a creative contributor to cultural change within the education world, we
are keeping an emphasis on the professional development of teachers, and
the quality of their work. We want to help create safe, supportive, and
healthy learning environments where children can exercise, to the
fullest extent, their imagination. ScienceWorks meets our ideal for
nurturing young imaginations, for promoting professional development and
for emphasizing a family and community based educational philosophy.
Please read on, visit their website, and find a way to support this
wonderful regional resource. A Community Museum with Regional Impact
In 2001, through a cooperative arrangement with the Kirlin Charitable Foundation and Southern Oregon University, ScienceWorks began leasing the 26,000 square foot building previously occupied by the Pacific Northwest Museum of Natural History. ScienceWorks has brought life and vitality back into the long-closed structure, and has given the building a fun and exciting new look. Hundreds of volunteers retrofitted the building, built exhibits and began implementation of the strategic plan. Now in its fourth year, ScienceWorks has served over 110,000 visitors and 30,000 school children throughout Southern Oregon and Northern California and has nearly 1,500 Member families from all over the region. ScienceWorks is home to nearly 100 interactive exhibits that encourage children and adults to learn more about science and various scientific principles through experience and experimentation. The museum currently uses 10,000 of an available 20,000 square feet of exhibit space, allowing for future expansion within the existing museum building, as well as the creation of outdoor educational opportunities on three acres of land. The majority of exhibits have been built in house in a state-of-the-art fabrication studio. Although ScienceWorks in Ashland, Oregon is by no means a large museum as compared to its urban counterparts The Exploratorium in San Francisco and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, relationships with these large museums is resulting in major exhibitions coming to southern Oregon over the next few years. Currently being developing is a NASA-funded exhibition “View From Space” and a SEPA-funded exhibition on children, nutrition and fitness.
Committed to sharing and leveraging resources with other nonprofit community organizations, ScienceWorks is serving the region through collaborations with Southern Oregon University, North Mountain Park, Southern Oregon Goodwill Industries, Southern Oregon Jobs Council, Living Opportunities, Southern Oregon Education Service District, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Southern Oregon Public Television, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland and the Exploratorium in San Francisco. ScienceWorks is a dynamic organization inspiring a love of science and learning in people of all ages.
ScienceWorks |
ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum is an interactive science museum located in Ashland, Oregon and serving explorers of all ages throughout Southern Oregon and Northern California. Founded in 2002 as a private response to a crisis in public science education, ScienceWorks is committed to “to inspire wonder and stimulate creative exploration through fun interactive science and the arts.”
current offerings and plans to add an Early Childhood Education StoryTime Science program. Outreach efforts are expanding, serving traditionally underserved rural areas.
ScienceWorks is a member of the 