Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Encyclopedia
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI, icon ) is a museum located in Portland, Oregon
, United States
. It contains two auditoriums, including an IMAX Dome
theatre, and a variety of hands-on permanent exhibits focused on natural sciences, industry, and technology. Transient exhibits span a wider range of disciplines.
On November 5, 1944, the Oregon Museum Foundation was founded with the mission of establishing an Oregon Museum of History, Science, and Industry. It displayed its first collection of natural history objects at the Portland Hotel
. Subsequent small exhibits occurred around town to generate interest and donations. In 1949, a house at 908 NE Hassalo was donated to establish the museum. Within a year, the Pacific Northwest's first public planetarium
opened in a dome on the front lawn.
By 1955, OMSI's annual attendance had grown to 25,000. The need for expansion led to volunteers building a new site at Washington Park, completing the original goal of a hands-on museum. (That building is now occupied by the Portland Children's Museum
.) This opened to the public on August 3, 1958, following a formal dedication by the governor on June 7. A planetarium was again included. The new building at the southwest corner of what was then Hoyt Park (now part of Washington Park) was located adjacent to the then-new site of the Portland Zoo
(now the Oregon Zoo), which began a one-year phased move to this location in the same month as the new OMSI opened. The two attractions remained neighbors, sharing a parking lot, until 1992.
, where a much larger building would be constructed. Property was donated by Portland General Electric
and building construction funded by a fundraising campaign. In 1992, OMSI opened at the new site, which continues to be the current location. The construction integrated the existing PGE turbine building and included the creation of a 330-seat OMNIMAX theater. The facility also includes a 200-seat planetarium with Digistar 3 technology.
The museum started planning for an expansion of the facility in 2006. In 2008, OMSI began finalizing the plans for the expansion, which was estimated to cost about $500 million and would double the size of the museum. They began working to secure the funds for the expansion the next year, but decided to hold off on the plans in 2010 after the poor economy had made it difficult to try and raise funds for the project.
appeared in the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October
before being towed to its present location, a pier right outside the museum. It was opened to the public on May 15, 1994, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in September 2008. The propeller has been removed and is now a National Submarine Memorial, located outside of the main museum area, beside the Eastbank Esplanade. The submarine is available for daily guided tours and summer camps.
' Body Worlds 3
, opened on June 7, 2007, and closed on October 7, 2007. By late September 2007, 300,000 people had seen Body Worlds 3, setting the record as OMSI's most visited traveling exhibit.
(which dated back to its days as a PGE power plant) which dominates the floor. It features exhibits about engineering
, physics
, chemistry
, and space travel
. The Turbine Hall has two floors. On the main floor are the large exhibits and enrichment areas. On the mezzanine there are smaller exhibits that emphasize properties of physics.
The Innovation Station includes hands-on exhibits related to technology and invention. The Physics, Chemistry, Technology, and Laser Holography
laboratories are connected to the Turbine Hall.
The Chemistry Laboratory is the first hands-on wet chemistry
laboratory
in the nation. There are six stations that allow visitors to learn about chemical interactions by participating in experiments that share a common theme. Themes rotate weekly and include the chemistry of toys, the nature of matter, biochemistry
, environmental chemistry, industrial chemistry, chemical reactions, everyday chemistry, and crime scene chemistry. Chemical reaction demonstrations are given daily and are often related to the weekly theme.
Physics Laboratory exhibits include a Van de Graff generator (a static electricity generator), motion detectors, circuits
, morse code
, magnets, computers that simulate basic properties of physics, and musical instruments. The Physics Laboratory also includes the Laser/Holography Laboratory, which is open for approximately one hour every day, during which staff and volunteers present 30-minute demonstrations in which a hologram is constructed. The Laser/Holography Laboratory also offers education about lasers and properties of light.
The Vernier Technology Laboratory investigates the impact of technology on society. Rotating interactive exhibits allow visitors to investigate technologies such as robots & computers, security technology, biomedical technology, communication
s technology, and household technology. Visitors can also use a wide variety of educational software on internet-connected computers.
. These include a collection of preserved fetuses at nearly every stage of development, from a few weeks after conception to full-term, and the exhibit Amazing Feats of Aging, which is concerned with the biology of aging. One of the features of this exhibit is the Age Machine, a computer program that allows visitors to capture, and then "age", a picture of themselves. The Life Sciences Hall also contains the Life Science Laboratory and the Earth Science Hall.
The Life Sciences Laboratory houses a wide variety of live animals, such as http://www.omsi.edu/visit/life/lab/ratcam/ rat
s, walking stick
s, chameleon
s, Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
es, and other mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Volunteers and staff members perform and lead a variety of a group activities, such as owl
pellet dissections and a demonstration of the differences between male and female skulls and pelvises.
The Earth Science Hall, located on the second floor, features geology
-oriented exhibits and two specialized laboratories. The Watershed Laboratory gives visitors an experience in constructing an erosion cycle out of a "river on a table." Visitors can learn about the life cycle of salmon
and investigate microscopic organisms from local waterways through a videomicroscope. Visitors to the Paleontology Laboratory watch staff members and volunteers excavating fossils, such as dinosaur bones.
The Animal Secrets exhibit encourages children and parents to explore the hidden habitats and lives of forest animals. Visitors can crawl through the roots of a Discovery Tree, look for animals in a cave and a chipmunk den, play in a woodland stream, and be a naturalist for a day. Animal Secrets features bilingual (English and Spanish) text panels.
The Discovery Laboratory offers rotating experiments and activities such as exploring Flubber or ice cube painting. Themed Discovery Drawers encourage parents to teach their own children about the contents.
, in the Cascades and in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
. OMSI is a frequent site for field trip
s, primarily for grades K-12, from all over the region.
. The museum is funded in part by member contributions, public and private donations, community agencies, federal grants and fundraising events. The largest OMSI fundraising event each year is the OMSI Gala - a black tie party in January where visitors gather to show support for science education.
Although it is staffed with full and part time employees, much of the museum is dependent on volunteers, who perform many of the same duties as staff members such as greeting visitors, customer service, and performing exhibit demonstrations. The volunteers include high school and college students as well as other community members. Volunteers serve in a wide range of areas within the museum, both on-stage and off. After 50 hours of service, all volunteers receive a free, one-year museum membership.
Rising Stars, OMSI's youth volunteer program, takes place both during the summer and during the school year. As a part of the program, participants attend weekly classes focusing on developing communication and customer service skills, and practice these skills by performing demonstrations on the museum floor. Participants also develop their own original science demonstration for presentation to the public at the end of each session.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It contains two auditoriums, including an IMAX Dome
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theatre, and a variety of hands-on permanent exhibits focused on natural sciences, industry, and technology. Transient exhibits span a wider range of disciplines.
History
Beginning in 1903, odd artifacts were displayed in hallways and alcoves in Portland City Hall arranged by Colonel L.L. Hawkins. When the collection was evicted in 1936, about 12,000 artifacts were stored throughout the city.On November 5, 1944, the Oregon Museum Foundation was founded with the mission of establishing an Oregon Museum of History, Science, and Industry. It displayed its first collection of natural history objects at the Portland Hotel
Portland Hotel
The Portland Hotel was a late-19th-century hotel in Portland, Oregon, United States that once occupied the city block on which Pioneer Courthouse Square now stands. It closed in 1951 after 61 years of operation.-History:...
. Subsequent small exhibits occurred around town to generate interest and donations. In 1949, a house at 908 NE Hassalo was donated to establish the museum. Within a year, the Pacific Northwest's first public 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...
opened in a dome on the front lawn.
By 1955, OMSI's annual attendance had grown to 25,000. The need for expansion led to volunteers building a new site at Washington Park, completing the original goal of a hands-on museum. (That building is now occupied by the Portland Children's Museum
Portland Children's Museum
Portland Children's Museum is a children's museum located in Portland's Washington Park, adjacent to the Oregon Zoo. Founded in 1946, Portland Children's Museum is the sixth oldest children's museum in the world and the oldest West of the Mississippi. The museum receives over a quarter of a...
.) This opened to the public on August 3, 1958, following a formal dedication by the governor on June 7. A planetarium was again included. The new building at the southwest corner of what was then Hoyt Park (now part of Washington Park) was located adjacent to the then-new site of the Portland Zoo
Oregon Zoo
The Oregon Zoo, formerly the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo in Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located southwest of Downtown Portland, the zoo is inside Portland's Washington Park, and includes a narrow-gauge railway that connects to the International Rose Test Garden inside...
(now the Oregon Zoo), which began a one-year phased move to this location in the same month as the new OMSI opened. The two attractions remained neighbors, sharing a parking lot, until 1992.
1992 move
By the mid-1980s, 600,000 people per year were visiting the building, which was designed for only 100,000. Expansion at the Washington Park site was deemed infeasible, and in 1986 it was announced that the museum would move to a new location on the east bank of the Willamette RiverWillamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
, where a much larger building would be constructed. Property was donated by Portland General Electric
Portland General Electric
Portland General Electric is an electrical utility based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - half of the inhabitants of Oregon...
and building construction funded by a fundraising campaign. In 1992, OMSI opened at the new site, which continues to be the current location. The construction integrated the existing PGE turbine building and included the creation of a 330-seat OMNIMAX theater. The facility also includes a 200-seat planetarium with Digistar 3 technology.
21st century
In 2004 the Turbine Hall was closed from September through November for renovations in which the Discovery Space and Technology Lab changed places and a new Inventors Ballroom was added. Also added were a small stage area for public exhibit demonstrations and a bridge connecting a new metal staircase with the mezzanine exhibits.The museum started planning for an expansion of the facility in 2006. In 2008, OMSI began finalizing the plans for the expansion, which was estimated to cost about $500 million and would double the size of the museum. They began working to secure the funds for the expansion the next year, but decided to hold off on the plans in 2010 after the poor economy had made it difficult to try and raise funds for the project.
Exhibits and attractions
OMSI has five different specialized exhibit halls, a planetarium, and a submarine exhibit.USS Blueback
The was purchased by OMSI in February 1994. This submarineSubmarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
appeared in the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October (film)
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
before being towed to its present location, a pier right outside the museum. It was opened to the public on May 15, 1994, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in September 2008. The propeller has been removed and is now a National Submarine Memorial, located outside of the main museum area, beside the Eastbank Esplanade. The submarine is available for daily guided tours and summer camps.
Featured Exhibit Hall
The Featured Exhibit Hall is used for temporary exhibits either manufactured by OMSI or brought in from museums around the world. Past exhibits have included "Grossology" (Winter–Spring 2001), "Giants of the Gobi" (1997), "A T-rex named Sue" (September 2001 – Jan. 2002), and "CSI, The Experience"( May–September, 2009). Gunther von HagensGunther von Hagens
Gunther von Hagens is a controversial German anatomist who invented the technique for preserving biological tissue specimens called plastination.-Early life:...
' Body Worlds 3
Body Worlds
Body Worlds is a traveling exhibition of preserved human bodies and body parts that are prepared using a technique called plastination to reveal inner anatomical structures...
, opened on June 7, 2007, and closed on October 7, 2007. By late September 2007, 300,000 people had seen Body Worlds 3, setting the record as OMSI's most visited traveling exhibit.
Turbine Hall
The Turbine Hall is named for the large steam turbineSteam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
(which dated back to its days as a PGE power plant) which dominates the floor. It features exhibits about engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, and space travel
Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
. The Turbine Hall has two floors. On the main floor are the large exhibits and enrichment areas. On the mezzanine there are smaller exhibits that emphasize properties of physics.
The Innovation Station includes hands-on exhibits related to technology and invention. The Physics, Chemistry, Technology, and Laser Holography
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
laboratories are connected to the Turbine Hall.
The Chemistry Laboratory is the first hands-on wet chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
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...
in the nation. There are six stations that allow visitors to learn about chemical interactions by participating in experiments that share a common theme. Themes rotate weekly and include the chemistry of toys, the nature of matter, biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
, environmental chemistry, industrial chemistry, chemical reactions, everyday chemistry, and crime scene chemistry. Chemical reaction demonstrations are given daily and are often related to the weekly theme.
Physics Laboratory exhibits include a Van de Graff generator (a static electricity generator), motion detectors, circuits
Electrical network
An electrical network is an interconnection of electrical elements such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, transmission lines, voltage sources, current sources and switches. An electrical circuit is a special type of network, one that has a closed loop giving a return path for the current...
, morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
, magnets, computers that simulate basic properties of physics, and musical instruments. The Physics Laboratory also includes the Laser/Holography Laboratory, which is open for approximately one hour every day, during which staff and volunteers present 30-minute demonstrations in which a hologram is constructed. The Laser/Holography Laboratory also offers education about lasers and properties of light.
The Vernier Technology Laboratory investigates the impact of technology on society. Rotating interactive exhibits allow visitors to investigate technologies such as robots & computers, security technology, biomedical technology, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s technology, and household technology. Visitors can also use a wide variety of educational software on internet-connected computers.
Life Sciences Hall
The Life Sciences Hall, on the second floor of the museum, offers exhibits about biologyBiology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. These include a collection of preserved fetuses at nearly every stage of development, from a few weeks after conception to full-term, and the exhibit Amazing Feats of Aging, which is concerned with the biology of aging. One of the features of this exhibit is the Age Machine, a computer program that allows visitors to capture, and then "age", a picture of themselves. The Life Sciences Hall also contains the Life Science Laboratory and the Earth Science Hall.
The Life Sciences Laboratory houses a wide variety of live animals, such as http://www.omsi.edu/visit/life/lab/ratcam/ rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s, walking stick
Walking stick
A walking stick is a device used by many people to facilitate balancing while walking.Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. Some kinds of walking stick may be used by people with disabilities as a crutch...
s, chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
s, Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Madagascar hissing cockroach
The Madagascar hissing Cockroach , also known as the Hissing Cockroach or simply Hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 2–4 inches at maturity. They are from the island of Madagascar off the African coast, where they can be found in rotting logs.Unlike most cockroaches, they...
es, and other mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Volunteers and staff members perform and lead a variety of a group activities, such as owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
pellet dissections and a demonstration of the differences between male and female skulls and pelvises.
The Earth Science Hall, located on the second floor, features geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
-oriented exhibits and two specialized laboratories. The Watershed Laboratory gives visitors an experience in constructing an erosion cycle out of a "river on a table." Visitors can learn about the life cycle of salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
and investigate microscopic organisms from local waterways through a videomicroscope. Visitors to the Paleontology Laboratory watch staff members and volunteers excavating fossils, such as dinosaur bones.
Science Playground
The Science Playground, the early childhood education area on the second floor of the museum, is designed for families with newborn to six-year-old children. The area is fully enclosed and designed to keep children visible and secure, while giving them freedom to explore at will. Its purpose is to give children the opportunity to develop interactive scientific learning through play. It contains a variety of experimental stations intended to encourage natural curiosity, including a stimulating infant area, a giant sandbox, a water area, a reading area, and physical science exhibits. The area is staffed by trained specialists in Early Childhood Education. There is also a Parent Resource Corner with reference materials on topics ranging from the developing brain to behavior intervention techniques.The Animal Secrets exhibit encourages children and parents to explore the hidden habitats and lives of forest animals. Visitors can crawl through the roots of a Discovery Tree, look for animals in a cave and a chipmunk den, play in a woodland stream, and be a naturalist for a day. Animal Secrets features bilingual (English and Spanish) text panels.
The Discovery Laboratory offers rotating experiments and activities such as exploring Flubber or ice cube painting. Themed Discovery Drawers encourage parents to teach their own children about the contents.
Planetarium
Computer-aided astronomy and laser light shows are performed daily in the Harry C. Kendall Planetarium (previously the Murdock Planetarium).Auditoriums
OMSI contains both an OMNIMAX theater and a large auditorium, with a stage, where annual events such as science fairs occur. Science fairs that take place in the main auditorium include OHSU's Brain Awareness, Safety Safari, and the Reptile and Amphibian Show. The auditorium is also used for private events.Educational outreach
OMSI operates the largest science museum outreach program in the country. The museum offers presentations in schools, summer science camp programs for individuals, and outdoor school programs for school groups on the Oregon CoastOregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
, in the Cascades and in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. National Monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon. Located within the John Day River basin and managed by the National Park Service, the park is known for its well-preserved layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived in the...
. OMSI is a frequent site for field trip
Field trip
A field trip or excursion, known as school trip in the UK and school tour in Ireland, is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment...
s, primarily for grades K-12, from all over the region.
Funding and volunteer support
OMSI is a non-profit organization and receives no financial support from the State of OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The museum is funded in part by member contributions, public and private donations, community agencies, federal grants and fundraising events. The largest OMSI fundraising event each year is the OMSI Gala - a black tie party in January where visitors gather to show support for science education.
Although it is staffed with full and part time employees, much of the museum is dependent on volunteers, who perform many of the same duties as staff members such as greeting visitors, customer service, and performing exhibit demonstrations. The volunteers include high school and college students as well as other community members. Volunteers serve in a wide range of areas within the museum, both on-stage and off. After 50 hours of service, all volunteers receive a free, one-year museum membership.
Rising Stars, OMSI's youth volunteer program, takes place both during the summer and during the school year. As a part of the program, participants attend weekly classes focusing on developing communication and customer service skills, and practice these skills by performing demonstrations on the museum floor. Participants also develop their own original science demonstration for presentation to the public at the end of each session.