NEWS

Science Center marks milestone

A year's worth of events on tap to celebrate 40th anniversary

Samantha Swann
sswann@shj.com

Spartanburg ArtWalk this month featured more than its usual fare of paintings, drawings and prints — The Spartanburg Science Center pitched in to make the night a true STEAM experience in celebration of its 40th anniversary.

"We've had a very successful 40 years. We hope to have an even more successful next 40 years," said Jonathan Storm, the center's board president. "I think over the next 40 years, we'll see more and more programs."

The event was only the first of a year's worth of events to celebrate the 40th anniversary, Storm said.

During the Science Center's first-ever Artwalk, children and adults learned about South Carolina's wildlife through the arts. All the usual exhibits — microscopes, virtual reality, the ever-popular LEGOs — were open to the public for free, as well as a few special exhibits exclusively for ArtWalk, like a gallery of paintings featuring regional animals and landscapes by local artists Caroll Foster, Ima Ortega and Nancy Corbin. All of the works were for sale, with 40 percent of the proceeds going to the museum.

The event also offered a variety of activities for adults and children, including a raffle for a one-year family membership to the Science Center, nature-themed arts and crafts projects, and a live drawing contest of the creatures — from toads to hedgehogs — in the museum's live animal room.

"The elephant head is the best," said 7-year-old Sayler Blanton. "Because it has the big tusks."

John Green, affectionately known as "Mr. Green" when he served as executive director from 1979-2016, came back to visit the Science Center he was so said instrumental in creating. He said he was proud of how far the center has come.

"I think that in the next decades, the Science Center is going to grow and become out-of-this-world great. I think the potential for growth is pretty enormous," Green said. "I believe that they're going to be a state-of-the-art facility."

The museum offers more than 30 exhibits on wildlife, natural history, technology and engagement with a focus on hands-on learning, making it a go-to resource for many Spartanburg schools.

In recent years, the Science Center has also offered a number of programs including playing host to Hub City Robotics, two clubs that give elementary school students the opportunity to learn about robotics hands-on, and the annual LEGO Expo. The museum was recently honored by the Buzz Aldrin's Share Space Foundation, having been chosen to host the local branch of its Mars Maps program.

"We're looking to somehow find a bigger area and to continually keep up with what science produces," said Mary Levens, the center's office manager. "We're wanting to keep up with whatever comes up in science, and in 40 years, who knows what that will be."