Five year old Naya Bowers is creating some art, by pushing some brightly colored plastic pegs into a giant illuminated wall.
It’s a giant, bigger than life version of the popular 60’s and 70’s children’s toy called “Lite Brite,” which makes creating art fun for kids. This is one of more than 70 exhibits at MOXI. The Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation, which officially opens its doors to the public for the first time this Saturday. It’s a children’s museum intended to make learning about science and technology fun.
Naya’s mother, Blanca Bowers, is impressed. She says it’s important to do things which get kids, especially girls, interested in science and technology.
The 17,000 square foot, more than $25 million dollar project is the result of nearly three decades of effort. The unique looking, Spanish styled building designed by famed architect Barry Berkus is less than a block from Stearns Wharf, on lower State Street. MOXI officially opens to the public this coming Saturday afternoon, families who bought memberships are getting a sneak preview.
When you walk in the front door, one of the first things you notice is a giant room called the “Innovation Workshop.” 11 year old Jenna Johnson is using a robot to create a giant artwork on paper taped to the floor. She says it was challenging to attach Sharpes to the robots, but admits it’s fun driving them around, and making art. Johnson’s mother, Gina LaMonica, says she loves the idea of using fun to get kids interested in science. She says up until now, there has been nothing like this in the region.
Almost all of the interactive exhibits created for the museum are one of a kind, and some were created in cooperation with South Coast tech companies, as well as UC Santa Barbara researchers. About 90% of the exhibits are one of a kind originals.
One of the exhibits is a series of Foley studios, where you can learn about how movie sound effects are made by actually trying it. We see a short clip from the animated kids movie “Ice Age,” and then try to duplicate the sound.
Another exhibit, which allows kids and adults to feed foam balls into tubes, where compressed here sends them shooting in different directions.
Ron Skinner, who’s MOXI’s Education Director, says kids and adults will be learning, while having fun.
The new Santa Barbara museum has a staff of 40 full and part time employees, as well as about 100 volunteers. Starting Saturday, it will be open seven days a week. The museum is expecting to have about 100,000 visitors during its first year of operation.
