Discovery World’s new exhibit is so energetic
Discovery World has partnered with We Energies for its new “Power On” exhibit. It teaches kids about energy, yes, but the really cool thing is that it uses kid-energy to educate them.
Check out these hands-on activities that kids — and grownups — can do.
Get in the spirit at the entrance to the exhibit
Families can walk into the exhibit and encounter a wall of what public relations manager Paul Fladten referred to as flip dots. Kids dance, jump and just generally move in front of the wall, and their movements are scanned and shown in real time so they can see their actions right in front of them.
Power up appliances, toys and even a drone with kid energy
In the Human Power area, visitors can pedal stationary bicycles and, depending on how fast they pedal, watch a blender power on. Or a wall full of monkeys with cymbals. Or a chainsaw. And, CEO Joel Brennan said, “The big payoff is that a drone will take off and hover.”
Run (in every sense of the word) a whole city
The staff at Discovery World is super excited about the “Run your City” activity. Partly because it’s something they’ve always wanted to do. And partly because it’s just cool.
“It’s one of the best parts of the exhibit,” Fladten said. “It’s like a living, breathing video game.” Four kids at a time can run on platforms to navigate through different obstacles shown on a large screen in front of them to do whatever is necessary to keep the energy going in a fictional city.
“Kids have been flocking to play this game,” Fladten said. “The whole exhibit just completely holds their attention.”
The “Power On” exhibit also includes other hands-on activities that have being keeping kids engaged, and, well, energetic ever since the new exhibit opened. Things like a touch screen game where kids have to put pipe segments in the correct order to complete a building’s plumbing system. And a rope that kids can pull to watch drone footage that follows a wire from the outlet right to the power plant the energy comes from. And, even a comfortable couch to lie down on and look up at a ceilingmounted exhibit showcasing the original source of Earth’s energy — the sun.
Brennan and Fladten were as enthusiastic as the many kids checking out the exhibit as they showed off the available activities. As they dodged the children running from one activity to the next, Fladten laughed. “This has been the energy in here ever since the exhibit opened,” he said.
Plus, there are two extra new things at Discovery World
Although the “Power On” exhibit is the centerpiece of the new stuff at Milwaukee’s science museum, that’s not the only new construction.
Extra space for field trip kids (and more)
There’s a new addition at Discovery World outside the north side of the technology building. The new pavilion has already been home to special events, but the benefit that’s of most interest to kids and families is that it’s where kids will be able to eat lunch on their field trips, and where those field trip groups will receive their orientation at the beginning of their stay. That’s great news for any schoolkid (and chaperon) who’s experienced how crowded the old Discovery World could get during a day with several field trip groups.
A new home for temporary exhibits
There’s a floor above the “Power On” exhibit and a balcony that overlooks it. Up there is the new space where temporary exhibits will live — including the first of them, Santa’s Village, which will be there during the holiday season.
Other temporary exhibits will be announced throughout 2019, and, Brennan said, the space will eventually be home to another new permanent exhibit, this one focused on health. But, in the meantime, “The hard hats have been put away for a while,” Brennan said. “For the next year, we’re just going to let people enjoy the great new things that are here now.”
Amy Schwabe is editor of Wisconsin family. For more family-related stories, see jsonline.com/life/wisconsin-family.