- SciWorks
SciWorks, the Science Center and Environmental Park of Forsyth County is a science museum in
Winston-Salem ,North Carolina . Although it is geared primarily towards children from preschool up to eighth grade, it has offerings for all ages.It began in 1964 as the Nature Science Center of Forsyth County, started by the local
Junior League ; the museum was originally housed in a barn atReynolda Village . In 1971, the Nature Science Center moved to its present location at West Hanes Mill Road, into a building that originally housed a home for the destitute and later a psychiatric hospital. In 1992 it closed and underwent a major renovation, re-opening under the SciWorks name. In 2001, the museum upgraded the facilities by doubling the space of one of the main galleries and adding an indoor eating area to the building.The museum currently consists of a building with convert|45000|sqft|m2|-2 of exhibit space, a 15 acre environmental park, and a
planetarium . Visitors are greeted by Huey, a chatty blue-and-yellow macaw who has become the museum's unofficial mascot. The exhibit galleries cover a wide range of topics such asNorth Carolina geography and geology, local wildlife, the human body, physics (featuring aFoucault pendulum ), sound, and technology. In addition, there is a traveling exhibit gallery that features both nationally touring exhibits and exhibits created in-house.The environmental park features river otters named Mollie and Ollie,
white-tailed deer , and a barnyard (which reopened after extensive fundraising in 2006) that hasdonkey s, aminiature horse ,sheep ,domestic goat s, and Black Anguscow s. The museum also runs several interactive education programs for elementary and middle school students, and has created an outreach program for schools in more remote areas.Contrary to popular belief, the museum is not run by the city of Winston-Salem; it is an independent
non-profit facility. About a third of its funding comes from city and state grants, but over half of the money that runs the facility comes from income generated by admissions, gift shop sales, SciCamp fees, and other sources.References
* "SciWorks Teachers Guide: 2006-2007", (2006), SciWorks (brochure)
* " [http://www.sciworks.org/pdf/2006AnnualReport.pdf SciWorks Annual Report: 2005-2006]External links
* [http://www.sciworks.org SciWorks, the Science Center and Environmental Park of Forsyth County]
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