Reconnecting with the Community
A couple weeks ago I had an engagement with the Buffalo Museum of Science. The plan was to attend a behind the scenes tour of the complex in order to observe some of the cultural’s inner workings. The day was a Tuesday and little did I know that hundreds of small school children would also be scouting out the premises as well. What I did not know when I arrived, was that I was showing up an hour earlier than when I was expected. So when I found out that I had an hour to kill I b-lined it for the ‘break room’ in search of a cup of coffee. I found the machine and sat down at a table to check out my schedule.
Before I knew it I was surrounded by 75 kids who were circling the tables in search of a place to tear open their mid-morning snacks. My adventure at the science museum had begun. The kids, it turns out, were visiting from schools all over WNY and the eldest looked to be about 7 years old. This was great, because years earlier I had not run across too many other people during my visit. Had times really changed at the science museum that hundreds of kids were now here on a regular basis?
It seems as if times have indeed changed and I was there to discover just how much. Before I ventured upstairs I had to ask the little ‘scientists for a day’ what their favorite ‘thing’ was so far. The general consensus was ‘The Mummies!’. So after helping a bunch of the kids open their Fruit Roll-Ups and String Cheese Tubes I huffed it upstairs to find my tour.
My behind the scenes tour was designed to showcase some of the ways the museum is becoming more relevant to the community. Here is a Buffalo institution that is trying everything that it can to attract a new generation of Buffalonians through its doors and is working overtime to rework its image as a place to learn. The Buffalo Museum of Science prides itself on being a ‘minds-on’ institution… one that teaches life skills to kids of all ages who play an interactive role with the exhibits and the visitors. It’s also a place where an adult can embrace his or her inner-child just by wandering the halls.
So what are some of the ways that the museum is reaching out to the community? Well, for one, three hundred visitors recently attended the annual Star Lights, Drinks and Bites event that attracts adults that might not normally visit the museum. Often times a person’s first trip to the museum is when he or she has a child, and it is during that initial trip that many people begin to wonder why it took them so long to pay a visit. The museum also opens its doors to a few community associations that utilize the grounds for hosting community meetings. It’s just another way to embrace people who then continue to interact with the institution down the road.
The Buffalo Museum of Science has had a very interesting history and is constantly evolving to keep pace with the young minds of today. These days the cultural is in a constant state of flux. Carroll Simon, interim president and CEO, describes it this way, “We’ve been turning the museum inside out. There are a lot of tough decisions that are being made… some visitors want to know the museum like the back of their hands while others want to see new displays every time they arrive. We try to keep the masses happy, which can often times can be very hard. When the museum acquired Tifft Farm in 1984 it added a completely new dimension to the role of the museum’s staff. Not many people know that we are the also steward of an enormous nature preserve located within city limits. Then, when you take into account the drastic cuts in County funding? It’s a large operation that we run here and our goal is to make our resources as accessible as possible for the general population of WNY. By reinventing the museum we are renewing the community’s interest… and that interest brings crucial awareness to our elected officials that we are still extremely relevant to the city.”
The tour ended up being much more enlightening than I had originally anticipated. Kathryn Leacock, Curator of Collections, gave us an incredible look at a miniscule portion of the museum’s 120,000 artifacts (sorry, no photos). The treasures are indescribable… each item is dated world history unlike anything I had ever seen. Did you know that the museum is spearheading a local two-acre archeological dig site where scientists have discovered a mastodon burial ground? Check out the photo in the slide show where Dr. Richard Laub, Curator of Geology, holds out a jawbone unearthed at the site. If dinosaurs aren’t your thing, then how about bugs? Look closely at the shadow box that Dr John Grehan, Director of Science and Collections, holds. It’s full of some of the most bizarre insects that you could ever imagine. I had no idea the vast number (100,000+) of specimens that the museum retains. Want to see a passenger pigeon, or a mummy, a gigantic ant farm or a Chenrezig Mandala? There is so much to see and do!
A trip to the Buffalo Museum of Science would not be complete without a visit to their latest ‘minds-on’ exhibit aptly named Connections. Just ask Jayme Cellitioci, Assistant Director of the museum’s Center of Science Learning what is so important about this new exhibit. She will tell you that the exhibit is the future of the science museum… and it’s this direction which is making each visit more and more exciting. This is where kids can interact with a 16’ stream table or hop on a kid-friendly computer or peer into a professional looking microscope. Connections is in a room that was formerly known as ‘the bird room’. Recently converted into a modern day discovery zone, Connections is another way the museum is literally connecting with its visitors.
The latter end of the tour was also informative in ways that Kristen Daley, Manager of Visitor Experience, described as, “Showing the younger generation how to become leaders in our community from an early age. We teach them interactive life skills that they will take with them into their teens and beyond.” And I thought kids just showed up to stare at bugs! That’s pretty cool.
The Science Museum has branched out in so many different ways that it is hard to pinpoint them all. They now have a satellite location on Elmwood Avenue called The Science Spot, they are constantly engaged with the adjoined science magnet school (first of its kind in the country), they have developed programs such as Camp Wee Explorers where parents and children can learn together, and science camps… the list goes on.
It’s a wonderful time to revisit the Buffalo Museum of Science. Like The Zoo and the Philharmonic, the museum offers a scientific learning experience that travels with each visitor for life. If you are looking to contribute your time to a worthy cause, please consider donating time to the museum. What is most important however is getting the word out that one of our cultural institutions is going the extra mile to reconnect with the region. Come visit a society that’s been around since 1861… they’re doors are always open… and new ones are opening all the time.
If you're wondering why there were no kids in the pictures it is due to parent release forms. I had to make three trips through the museum to find different times when each room was empty. I highly suggest that if you have kids, visit on a Tuesday morning!
Special thanks to both Robin Elardo, Manager of Resource Development, Anne Conable, Director of Institutional Advancement and Laura Mangan for making the tour an enlightening one.
Its worth posting one more time:
How about a collaborative effort to connect Masten Park, City Fields, Humboldt Park and the Science Museum into a single master park for the eastside. Their both located between Best and Dodge and there is only a few blocks inbetween, some dont even have houses while others only have 50% of their houses. Why not donate those empty lots to the park system as a start?
Check out the satellite map. It would change the entire dynamic of the Wedge.