Boonshoft Museum of Discovery
Encyclopedia
The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is a children's museum
in Dayton, Ohio
, United States
that focuses on science
. Exhibits include an extensive natural history collection as well as maintaining a collection of live animals native to Ohio. Educational outreach extends to the community by providing in-school programming and on-site special programs. SunWatch Indian Village
is a sister site to the museum.
The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums
(AAM), affiliated with the Association of Children's Museums
(ACM), and is a governing member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
(ASTC). In addition, the museum's indoor Discovery Zoo is fully accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
. The museum is the only zoo, aquarium, planetarium or science center in Dayton, and also houses the Apollo Observatory
, an astronomical observatory operated by the Miami Valley Astronomical Society.
and Museum. Over the years, collections gathered by prominent Dayton citizens on their trips around the world were contributed to the museum. Local natural history
collections were also contributed. In 1952, a group of citizens organized the Dayton Society of Natural History which took responsibility for the collections
and transformed them into the Dayton Museum of Natural History. In 1958, the Museum of Natural History's main building on Ridge Avenue was completed. In 1991, a new planetarium
and expanded collection and exhibit space were added. The Society remained committed to the ideal of inspiring children to enthusiastically embrace science
as a vital aspect of their lives through exhibits and programs that were both entertaining and educational.
In 1991 the museum added a Digistar II
Planetarium
to its facilities.
In 1993 a group of interested community leaders formed a steering committee to explore the idea of creating the Children's Museum of Dayton. This group believed that a children's museum
could reach children ages two through twelve and instill in them a lifelong love of learning as well as an appreciation for the world around them. The group formed a governing board, launched a mobile outreach program, displayed model exhibits, and began planning for a permanent home in downtown Dayton.
As the Children's Museum movement gained visibility, the similarity between its philosophy and the Museum of Natural History's mission became very clear. In the summer of 1995, the Children's Museum Board and Board of the Dayton Society of Natural History began discussing ways to collaborate. By January, 1996, these talks resulted in an enthusiastic agreement to fully merge boards under the umbrella of the Dayton Society of Natural History. (The Dayton Society of Natural History is the parent organization of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and its sister organization, SunWatch Indian Village—a museum of the area's 12th century Fort Ancient culture—and Finley Nature Preserve, which is not open to the public.) As a result of the merger, the Dayton Museum of Discovery was born and assumed all public
, educational, and programming functions previously associated with the Dayton Museum of Natural History.
The board commissioned a professionally-developed exhibits master plan
that would take into account all of the resources and potential brought to the table by both organizations and by May 1999 Phases I and II of an extensive exhibits master plan had been completed. The name change to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery occurred in January, 1999, in recognition of Oscar Boonshoft, one of the Museum's most dedicated friends.
: is a 68 inches (1.7 m) globe
, suspended in mid-air, capable of showing dynamic visualizations of Earth and space. It also has the capability of showing commercial air traffic around the world while presenting other things such as turtle migrations.
Hall of the Universe: is an exhibit where interactive learning can take place about the solar system
. Also contains the Exoplanet Exploration exhibit.
Explorers Crossing: consists of a play grocery store
, court house, veterinary clinic, recycling
center, and more where children can learn, roll play
, and interact with hundreds of different pieces to learn more about associated topics within each setting.
Oscar Boonshoft Science Central: is an exhibit that contains a water table
where children can learn about water and its properties, a manipulative area where children can learn about points, lines, and curves through rubber band
art, a demonstrative laboratory
, and several other interactive areas.
Nesiur the Mummy: is an exhibit that contains a mummy
donated to the museum from Egypt
, and other African pieces.
Glowing Geology: is an exhibit that contains glowing rocks that children can interact with.
Mead Tree House: is a fully enclosed tree house
where children can learn about environmental preservation and use binoculars to do bird watching through windows within the tree house.
The Tidal Pool: is an exhibit that contains live sea water specimins such as sea stars, sea anemones, sea cucumbers, and gumboot chitons. The exhibit is run by a museum employee.
The Bieser Discovery Center: is an exhibit that contains thousands of real specimens such as animal skeletons, shells
, and fossils. Also located in the exhibit are several live specimins that include a burmese python
, an emerald tree boa
, hissing cockroaches
, and tarantulas. Along with these things are many science related children's books.
The Discovery Zoo:is an indoor zoo
that is fully accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
(AZA) that showcases mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians that are native to Ohio
. The zoo has a prairie habitat, a temperate forest habitat, and a wetland habitat, and is home to nearly one hundred animals including a bobcat
, coyote
, and North American river otters. Although the museum does not itself rehabilitate injured animals, many of the animals, including the zoo's two river otters, came to the zoo after being injured in the wild and rehabilitated elsewhere, and would be unable to survive on their own. The Discovery zoo was renovated in 2010 to expand its capacity and recreate a new style to the zoo. The project also included the addition of around 18 new species of animals to the zoo. The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is one of only four museums in the United States that are accredited as an official zoo. The project came at a cost of $1 million.
s in the Dayton area.
Each day the staff presents special programs such as hands-on science experiments, otter feedings, Planetarium shows, story times and bird watching (at the Mead Tree House), Science on a Sphere live presentations, and visits with live animals.
awarded more than $800,000 to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery for the creation of an Exoplanet Exploration exhibit.
Along with the museum's permanent exhibits, there are also traveling exhibits that are commonly presented at the museum.
Children's museum
Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums feature interactive exhibits that are designed to be...
in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that focuses on science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. Exhibits include an extensive natural history collection as well as maintaining a collection of live animals native to Ohio. Educational outreach extends to the community by providing in-school programming and on-site special programs. SunWatch Indian Village
SunWatch Indian Village
SunWatch Indian Village / Archaeological Park is a recreated Fort Ancient Native American village that sits alongside the Great Miami River in Dayton, Ohio....
is a sister site to the museum.
The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums
American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...
(AAM), affiliated with the Association of Children's Museums
Association of Children's Museums
The Association of Children's Museums is a Washington, D.C.–based organization that represents more than 300 children's museums in 23 countries throughout the world. The association began in 1962 as the American Association of Youth Museums and grew out of the desire for children's museums to meet...
(ACM), and is a governing member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Association of Science-Technology Centers
The Association of Science-Technology Centers is an international organization of science centers and science museums. Members are located in more than 40 countries...
(ASTC). In addition, the museum's indoor Discovery Zoo is fully accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
. The museum is the only zoo, aquarium, planetarium or science center in Dayton, and also houses the Apollo Observatory
Apollo Observatory
-External links:** Weather forecasts of observing conditions....
, an astronomical observatory operated by the Miami Valley Astronomical Society.
History
The Dayton Museum of Natural History began in 1893 as a part of the Dayton Metro LibraryDayton Metro Library
Dayton Metro Library is a multi-branch library system serving 476,000 residents of the Dayton Metropolitan Area. It has 21 locations across the area . Over 7,600,000 items were checked out in 2008...
and Museum. Over the years, collections gathered by prominent Dayton citizens on their trips around the world were contributed to the museum. Local natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
collections were also contributed. In 1952, a group of citizens organized the Dayton Society of Natural History which took responsibility for the collections
Collection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
and transformed them into the Dayton Museum of Natural History. In 1958, the Museum of Natural History's main building on Ridge Avenue was completed. In 1991, a new planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
and expanded collection and exhibit space were added. The Society remained committed to the ideal of inspiring children to enthusiastically embrace science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
as a vital aspect of their lives through exhibits and programs that were both entertaining and educational.
In 1991 the museum added a Digistar II
Digistar II
Digistar II is a planetarium projection system by Evans & Sutherland - Digistar Users Group. It was released in the early 1990s as a descendant to the earlier Digistar, developed in the late 1970s...
Planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
to its facilities.
In 1993 a group of interested community leaders formed a steering committee to explore the idea of creating the Children's Museum of Dayton. This group believed that a children's museum
Children's museum
Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums feature interactive exhibits that are designed to be...
could reach children ages two through twelve and instill in them a lifelong love of learning as well as an appreciation for the world around them. The group formed a governing board, launched a mobile outreach program, displayed model exhibits, and began planning for a permanent home in downtown Dayton.
As the Children's Museum movement gained visibility, the similarity between its philosophy and the Museum of Natural History's mission became very clear. In the summer of 1995, the Children's Museum Board and Board of the Dayton Society of Natural History began discussing ways to collaborate. By January, 1996, these talks resulted in an enthusiastic agreement to fully merge boards under the umbrella of the Dayton Society of Natural History. (The Dayton Society of Natural History is the parent organization of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and its sister organization, SunWatch Indian Village—a museum of the area's 12th century Fort Ancient culture—and Finley Nature Preserve, which is not open to the public.) As a result of the merger, the Dayton Museum of Discovery was born and assumed all public
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
, educational, and programming functions previously associated with the Dayton Museum of Natural History.
The board commissioned a professionally-developed exhibits master plan
Master plan
A master plan has many meanings, it can refer to:Generally it may be used for serious plans or strategies, see:*Strategy**Strategic planning**Comprehensive planning**Blueprint...
that would take into account all of the resources and potential brought to the table by both organizations and by May 1999 Phases I and II of an extensive exhibits master plan had been completed. The name change to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery occurred in January, 1999, in recognition of Oscar Boonshoft, one of the Museum's most dedicated friends.
Permanent museum exhibits
Science On a SphereScience On a Sphere
Science On a Sphere is a spherical projection system created by NOAA. It presents high-resolution video on suspended globe rather than a flat screen, with the aim of better representing global phenomena. Animated images of atmospheric storms, climate change, and ocean temperature can be shown on...
: is a 68 inches (1.7 m) globe
Globe
A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
, suspended in mid-air, capable of showing dynamic visualizations of Earth and space. It also has the capability of showing commercial air traffic around the world while presenting other things such as turtle migrations.
Hall of the Universe: is an exhibit where interactive learning can take place about the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. Also contains the Exoplanet Exploration exhibit.
Explorers Crossing: consists of a play grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
, court house, veterinary clinic, recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
center, and more where children can learn, roll play
Roll Play
Roll Play is an inter-active preschool series created by J.J. Johnson, the maker of This is Daniel Cook. Produced by Sinking Ship Productions....
, and interact with hundreds of different pieces to learn more about associated topics within each setting.
Oscar Boonshoft Science Central: is an exhibit that contains a water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
where children can learn about water and its properties, a manipulative area where children can learn about points, lines, and curves through rubber band
Rubber band
A rubber band is a short length of rubber and latex formed in the shape of a loop and is commonly used to hold multiple objects together...
art, a demonstrative laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
, and several other interactive areas.
Nesiur the Mummy: is an exhibit that contains a mummy
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
donated to the museum from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and other African pieces.
Glowing Geology: is an exhibit that contains glowing rocks that children can interact with.
Mead Tree House: is a fully enclosed tree house
Tree house
Tree houses, treehouses, or tree forts, are platforms or buildings constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level...
where children can learn about environmental preservation and use binoculars to do bird watching through windows within the tree house.
The Tidal Pool: is an exhibit that contains live sea water specimins such as sea stars, sea anemones, sea cucumbers, and gumboot chitons. The exhibit is run by a museum employee.
The Bieser Discovery Center: is an exhibit that contains thousands of real specimens such as animal skeletons, shells
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
, and fossils. Also located in the exhibit are several live specimins that include a burmese python
Burmese Python
The Burmese Python is the largest subspecies of the Indian Python and one of the 6 largest snakes in the world, native to a large variation of tropic and subtropic areas of Southern- and Southeast Asia. They are often found near water and are sometimes semi-aquatic, but can also be found in trees...
, an emerald tree boa
Emerald tree boa
Corallus caninus is a non-venomous boa species found in the rainforests of South America. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description: Adults grow to about 6 feet in length...
, hissing cockroaches
Cockroaches
A cockroach is an insect of the order Blattaria. "Cockroach" may also refer to:*Cockroach , a 2001 album by Danger Danger*Cockroach , a 2008 novel by Rawi Hage...
, and tarantulas. Along with these things are many science related children's books.
The Discovery Zoo:is an indoor zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
that is fully accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
(AZA) that showcases mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians that are native to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. The zoo has a prairie habitat, a temperate forest habitat, and a wetland habitat, and is home to nearly one hundred animals including a bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
, and North American river otters. Although the museum does not itself rehabilitate injured animals, many of the animals, including the zoo's two river otters, came to the zoo after being injured in the wild and rehabilitated elsewhere, and would be unable to survive on their own. The Discovery zoo was renovated in 2010 to expand its capacity and recreate a new style to the zoo. The project also included the addition of around 18 new species of animals to the zoo. The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is one of only four museums in the United States that are accredited as an official zoo. The project came at a cost of $1 million.
Education
The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is a popular spot for school field trips. In addition to school field trips, the museum has a program called Exhibits-To-Go which are a set of exhibits that can be taken directly to school classroomClassroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s in the Dayton area.
Each day the staff presents special programs such as hands-on science experiments, otter feedings, Planetarium shows, story times and bird watching (at the Mead Tree House), Science on a Sphere live presentations, and visits with live animals.
Events
The Museum hosts many special events each year. Some of these, such as the Kids New Year's Eve Party and Howl-O-Ween, ShamROCK, and Voyage on the Parkway, but the Education Department also holds large scale activities in support of Biology, Nanotechnology and Chemistry, and the Astronomy Department holds Astronomy Day and special Friday night star gazing events.The future
In 2010, NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
awarded more than $800,000 to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery for the creation of an Exoplanet Exploration exhibit.
Along with the museum's permanent exhibits, there are also traveling exhibits that are commonly presented at the museum.