New World of Science exhibit rewards curiosity
Collecting and exchanging objects from nature, researching your discoveries under the microscope and getting up close to animals from faraway places.
These are all things that visitors can soon do at the Telus World of Science as the facility’s new Nature Exchange gallery opens Saturday.
The gallery is separated into three spaces — the trading centre, the field station and the animal zone. Children explored each of these spaces Thursday morning during a preview of the exhibit.
The central idea of the gallery is the trading centre. Visitors can bring items they’ve found while exploring the outdoor world into the centre to trade the items for points. The more knowledge the person can demonstrate about the object, the more points they receive.
Once visitors have accumulated enough points, they can trade their points in for other items, like shells, pine cones and minerals.
Alan Nursall, the president and CEO of Telus World of Science, agrees with the description of the space as a “science arcade” of sorts, with the trading process akin to exchanging game tickets for prizes.
“We’re really a brokerage that encourages and rewards knowledge. The points are our currency and the knowledge is our commodity,” Nursall said.
Items available for trade range from ash and willow, which cost only 10 points, to mineral concretions that cost up to 80,000 points. Visitors can expect to earn a minimum of 200 points when trading in one of their own items.
“The goal is to help encourage people to practice real science skills,” said Marie McConnell, the centre’s staff scientist in charge of the Nature Exchange. “We’re asking people to be curious in nature, to ask questions, to answer those questions by doing research and to share what they’ve learned. And that’s the backbone of science.”
The other sections of the gallery feature space for visitors to observe and learn about animals like sugar gliders and bearded dragons that are on exhibit, as well as microscopes through which to view their objects.
The idea for the Nature Exchange originated at the Science North centre in Ontario. Similar exhibits have opened at science centres across the continent.
The centre will now focus on a massive expansion that will add 20,000 square feet to the complex. The expansion and renovations will cost a combined $40 million and are expected to finish in 2022.