ABILENE, Texas — The new Spark Science Center is full of exhibits that feature STEAM; science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.
From earthquake simulators, to life size dinosaurs, the museum has something for everyone.
“What you’re in is an area that used to be the gym for Lincoln Middle School, the girls gym,” Director of the Spark Science Center, Martha Hammack, said. “And now we have transformed it into a place of over 75 interactives inside and outside of or about 30 interactives for families, people of all ages, generations to come and explore.”
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From earthquake simulators, to life size dinosaurs, the museum has something for everyone. (KTXS/Tavish Laffell)
The former middle school gym has now been transformed into a hands-on learning space designed to spark curiosity for visitors of all ages.
“I think museums in the past, for some it just feel like, you know, items on a wall or items on the shelf,” Hammack said. “And everything we hear, yes, you’re learning, but you’re learning by trial. You’re learning through exploring your curiosity. And, I think that helps, you know, learners of all different kinds of backgrounds, not just those that learn by reading, but they learn by doing. They learn through experiences.”
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Hammack said the project has been years in the making, with community leaders and organizers working for nearly eight years to bring the museum to life. (KTXS/Tavish Laffell)
Hammack said the project has been years in the making, with community leaders and organizers working for nearly eight years to bring the museum to life.
“Not only do we have indoor experiences, we have outdoor experiences as well,” she said. “It has an interactive water table, has a derby where you can build cars and race them bubbles, music, sound.”
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She said one of her favorite parts of the museum is the flight area. (KTXS/Brenna Gibbons)
Hammack told us that being part of the project from the beginning and now seeing families enjoy the exhibits has been especially rewarding.
She said one of her favorite parts of the museum is the flight area.
“I love testing my skills on the flight simulator,” Hammack said. “Building a rocket and shooting it into the atmosphere. But I also love the the history behind the airplane that hangs that used to hang in our airport. And we’re very grateful for that gift, as well, but also the nod to Dyess Air Force Base and the future that’s ahead of us.”
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The Spark Science Center is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for those who want to come by and see what the museum has to offer. (KTXS/Brenna Gibbons)
The museum officially opened Saturday, drawing families from across the Big Country eager to explore the new exhibits.
“We had a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ and a lot of kids saying, ‘can I come back? Are we coming back next week,'” Hammack said. “We had a lot of comments about, ‘this reminds me of a museum I saw in Dallas or a museum that I went to in Austin. And so that’s what we wanted. We wanted to bring that experience to Abilene. Abilene’s ready for it. You know, we’re growing and, I think this is just one more element to draw people to our community.”
The Spark Science Center is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for those who want to come by and see what the museum has to offer.