Mid-America extends exhibit
Visitors to Mid-America Science Museum will have more opportunities to experience the traveling exhibit “Bionic Me” as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inaugural exhibit for the museum’s new traveling exhibit hall, “Bionic Me” opened May 23 in the midst of the pandemic and was scheduled to close on Oct. 4.
Diane LaFollette, the museum’s executive director, told The Sentinel-Record this week that the exhibit’s run has been extended until Jan. 10.
LaFollette said that the company that owns the exhibit had scheduled it to travel to Saudi Arabia in January, but had hoped to find another museum to host it in the months between October and January.
“With COVID, that didn’t happen,” she said.
The owner asked if Mid-America would “keep it for a few more months,” LaFollette said.
“We said, said. ‘Absolutely,” she LaFollette said that the exhibit has been well received. “It’s been really good,” she said. Everyone who has visited the museum since May has experienced the exhibit, as it is included with the price of admission to the museum.
The exhibit shows how technology is being used to help humans. It includes an exoskeleton, a robotic arm and night vision.
A good thing about the extension, LaFollette said, is that “we get to extend it into the school year.” She said that they are hoping to be able to get more students to get to experience the exhibit.
LaFollette also announced that the new hall’s second exhibition will be an art exhibit by local artist Longhua Xu and his 5-year-old grandson, Han Xu, which will open in March and run until Labor Day.
She said that they are still working on a title for the exhibit, but that it will show the artwork of grandfather and grandson. This will be the third time that Mid-America has housed a local art exhibit.
“For two years prior to COVID, we had an artist-in-residence show,” LaFollette said. During a show by local artist Gary Simmons, “Longhua approached us and said he would like to do the next one.”
The exhibit, she said, will “show how everybody is born with a gift,” and that “even a 5-year-old can (show off) their talents.”
“We’re really excited,” LaFollette said.
While the pandemic has affected the museum’s attendance, LaFollette said that they are doing well compared to many other museums. “We’ve been at 60% or so (of its normal attendance),” she said.
Other “museums are at 20%, so I feel like we’re doing really well,” she said.
A large number of museum visitors have been from Texas and Louisiana, LaFollette said.
The museum recently changed its schedule to only being open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each week. LaFollette said they will “continue that into 2021.”