Does your water footprint make a splash?
WaterWorks: Soak Up the Science on exhibit
May 28 - September 6, 2010
Museum of Discovery and Science

South Florida families are invited to learn a thing or two about the world’s most precious resource when the WaterWorks: Soak Up the Science exhibit and multimedia experience opens at the Museum of Discovery and Science. Learn about the sources of water, how much is locked up in the oceans, glaciers and in the soil. Come and explore the current issues in freshwater quality and conservation, while piloting a model submarine, making a rainbow, capturing a perfect snowflake, and finding your water footprint! Meet Water the Water Molecule and follow his fast-paced and humorous adventures in the wondrous and unpredictable world of the water cycle. Come to the Museum during opening weekend and take part in the Bubble Bash, conduct experiments with water tension, meet a group of kids dedicated to water conservation and more! This exhibit is sponsored locally by WSVN Channel 7 and The Real Yellow Pages.

How many minutes do you let the tap run while brushing your teeth? The average North American uses 93 gallons of water in a typical day. Take a 15-question quiz at WaterWorks: Soak up the Science to find out your water footprint. As you answer each question you’ll see and hear tubes beside you fill with the matching volume of water. The amount calculated for the question above is 4.23 gallons per minute, so if you answer .5 minutes 2.1 gallons will pour into the tubes. Visitors can create rainbows and clouds, as well as operate a model municipal water system and use hydraulics to lift 500 pounds. Stateof-the-art multimedia presentations in the Water Theater highlight Earth’s water sources, the life cycle of water, and conservation.

The colorful and engaging experiences of WaterWorks will help visitors understand: the water cycle, groundwater and surface water, sustainability - managing and protecting water as a resource, prevention, reduction and elimination of water pollution, water chemistry and how water relates to the environment, household uses of water and energy efficiency, waste, energy, air and biodiversity, importance of water sheds and glaciers and icecaps as storehouses of freshwater. The exhibit will be on display May 28 – September 6, 2010. Funding for this exhibit and related programs is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Summer Bubble Bash Weekends Noon to 4 p.m.
May 28 – 31, 2010
June 19 & 20, July 17 & 18, and
August 21 & 22, 2010

Take part in a classic summer tradition and blow bubbles with you buddies during this fun-filled summer event. You and your family will learn about the physics behind making bubbles as you party outside with fun music and strange bubble making devices. Make a bubble wall, participate in bubble making activities and even build your own bubble maker. Dress to get wet!

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MINERALS ROCK!

Did you know minerals are the building block of the entire Universe? The iron in hematite, in spinach and in the hemoglobin in our blood is all the same. Just like the calcium in sea shells, in milk and in our bones. Did you know some rocks glow in the dark? Learn more about minerals in this beautiful and colorful exhibit that displays over 60 different types of minerals, rocks and ammonites. See pyrite or fool’s gold, opal, copper, malachite, halite, quartz, azurite, and sulfur, just to name a few! You will even be able to touch real lava and make a “volcano” erupt to see how new rocks and land masses are formed! The exhibits in this display were provided by the Broward College Graves Museum Collection – Carol Jacobs Mineral and Ammonite Collection.

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BONE YARD

Whether a dinosaur was a carnivore or herbivore. Exhibits will showcase how a paleontologist locates, preserves, excavates and transports dinosaur bones from the field to a research center. Other exhibits will include dinosaur egg casts, claws and teeth. Go back in time and explore the amazing world of the dinosaur! The specimens on display in this exhibit are on loan from the Broward Community College Graves Museum Collection.


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FISHY FOSSILS

Travel back in time in our new exhibit and learn about the amazing creatures that lived in the world's oceans 65 million years ago. What do you think they ate? What do you think preyed upon the fish? The exhibit will showcase real and cast prehistoric fossilized fish and other sea creatures. See several species of ammonites, fossilized fish, sting rays and real prehistoric shark's teeth! The specimens on display in this exhibit are on loan from the Broward Community College Graves Museum Collection.

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AVIATION STATION

Fasten your seat belts and get ready to fly in this new fascinating exhibit. The 4,000-square-foot addition is the second phase of the exhibit and will provide hands-on, interactive aviation experiences. Visitors can climb into the captain's seat and pretend to fly a real DC-9 commercial airliner. Transform yourself into a bird by putting on wings and stepping into a giant wind tunnel so you can see what it feels like to fly. Visitors can explore the forces of flight that allow airplanes to fly. This addition has been made possible by a generous gift from the Emil Buehler Trust.

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