When my 10-year-old grandson Derek eagerly discusses scientific research, explorations, findings and experiments, you can begin to understand why the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park is so popular.
The center has many opportunities to show off its “magic” with its world-famous IMAX theater as a bonus treat.
“Our attendance is second only in the park to the zoo,” public relations manager Jeremy Pyle said. “More than 500,000 visitors visit each year. Over 100,000 of those are school children for field trips and outreach programs, which is neat.”
The versatility allows the center an opportunity to cover a lot of ground, from paleontology to geology and biology. It helps people interact and to understand the scientific process.
The Fleet’s ongoing weekend programs are designed to inform the public about science in ways that are striking, accessible and hands-on. Past talks have included explorers who journeyed to the depths of the ocean floors and rounded the far side of the moon.
Talks are designed to be suitable for all ages and provide exciting experiences. In the past year, they have included astronaut appearances, live bats, robots, Australian animals, astronomy authors, undersea explorers and rocket-building classes.
“Every exhibit is designed around a hands-on concept,” Pyle said. “There are traveling exhibits, but the center has its own department for design and building of many other displays.
“The volunteers on the floor are called exhibit interpreters and not docents. Some have backgrounds in science, others just have a definite interest. We have a large volunteer force.”
The popular and first of its kind IMAX theater has a giant, curved hemispheric screen.
“It has the advantage of doing double duty,” Pyle said. “It’s also a planetarium. This was the first tilted screen in the world. IMAX flat screens are the most common.”
Films are scheduled for four months. “Sea Monsters” is programmed for this fall.
There’s a Kid’s City, great fun for those 6 and under. For the older groups, scheduled observations are set from a space center.
A Challenger Center public pission lets you experience the technology and teamwork involved in space flight, with a realistic mission control and space station simulator. Individuals and groups are welcome but preregistration is required.
For the curious, there’s an exhibit called “Aging for all ages,” which will reveal how you might look 20, 30 or 40 years from now.
The science center has just finished the busy summer camp and is directing attention to the Challenger mission and Polar Palooza. The latter is a co-op venture with other museums.
Polar-Palooza is a high-energy weekend of family-friendly programs, “cool” multimedia presentations, the most up-to-date research from the Arctic and Antarctic, teacher workshops and 1,000-year-old ice cores.
On Oct. 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Qualcomm Hall, 5775 Morehouse Drive in Sorrento Mesa, an unprecedented “polar performance” will combine new scientific research from Earth’s polar regions with compelling stories about the people, wildlife and history of these extreme environments.
Immersive soundscapes, stunning video and photography from recent expeditions, actual polar artifacts and other story elements come together to profile the geologic history of Earth and showcase the journeys of six leading polar scientists, just back from the Arctic and Antarctic.
For information about Polar-Palooza, visit passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza. For the Fleet Science Center, visit www.rhfleet.org.