Young scientist at the Pfizer Foundation Biochemistry Discovery Lab at the New York Hall of Science (NY Hall of Science)

QUEENS, NY November 26, 2004 —

If you’re thinking of something to do this holiday weekend, one of New York’s under rated museums has just completed a huge makeover. The New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens has nearly doubled in size with an 89-million dollar expansion. WNYC’s Richard Hake visited the site which has been captivating scientific minds since the 1964 World’s Fair.

Millions of people drive by the Hall of Science which is sandwiched between the Long Island Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway. But some 275-thousand people actually pass through the gates of the concrete frame and dark cobalt colored glass structure each year. Most of them arrive by yellow bus on school field trips.

HAKE: Are you guys all in the same class? KIDS: NO! HAKE: What school are you in? KIDS: PS 79!

Now…with the addition of 55-thousand square feet, The Hall of Science features more than 400 interactive exhibits. Mayor Bloomberg…who opened the new wing of the hall…says it serves as a model on how both public and private money can be used for something good.

BLOOMBERG: I have always loved science museums. As a kid I always visited the Boston Science Museum every Saturday for years and years and years. And I think it was as much a formative part of my life as anything else.

The Hall of Science is the City’s largest hands on technology centers and ranked one of the best in the country. It’s Director….Doctor Alan Friedman…with his grey beard and round glasses….looks like a high school science teacher. But even after twenty years at the Hall….he continues to make learning fun.

FRIEDMAN: Hands on is one of the pedagogical strategies that really works….edit….and you know yourself that it’s very hard to learn how to ride a bicycle without actually getting on a bicycle.

All of the exhibits encourage visitors to touch and play. Like this one that mimics a deep sea dive.

COMPUTER: Video feed….air supply…check…radio…check…remote video…check…..nat sound….edit…ok…let’s dive and under

Martin Weiss is the Director of Science at the Hall. He also designed this exhibition that’s called the search for life beyond Earth.

WEISS: It’s about extemeaphiles. It’s about organisms that live in extreme environments…high temperature…high pressure…no oxygen…no sunlight…no ph. And they survive and thrive in environments that look much like environments that we see on Mars and Europa.

Upstairs in the area called the Sports Challenge….Dr. Freidman says each exhibit features scientific principles related to things most kids know about.

This area looks like the bullpen at Shea….. The very popular pitching cage where you throw a ball and see how fast it goes. No matter how fast it goes, if I show you how to throw a fast ball, how to release it rolling it out from under your fingers instead of just letting it go…that spin will actually make it go further.

One of the more popular and fascinating exhibits is virtual arm wrestling. You can challenge someone in another country who’s sitting in a museum with the same exhibit. I grasped the robotic looking arm and played with a staff member across the room sitting at another terminal as Dr. Friedman looked over my shoulder.

FRIEDMAN: I see some grinning here because he’s winning. Ok now you’re winning. He’s letting me win. How strong a force your exerting and how much he’s exerting and you actually feel it on this aluminum arm…..edit…..I’m determined to win. It’s all going over the internet. Ok you’re getting close. Etc.

My challenger…Ernesto Arnold…is what the museum calls an explainer. He’s a student who gets paid to assist and teach visitors about the exhibits.

ARNOLD: I’m a computer major, but I do like science. That is one of my strong points. I was really good at it in high school and I stick with it. I stick with what I’m good at.

The Hall of Science hopes to continue to attract visitors young and old for the years to come. Along with its new state of the art facility it still maintains the remnants of the past. As jets buzz overhead on takeoff from Laguardia you can visit Rocket Park…which was originally part of the World’s Fair. There you can see the Atlas/Mercury and Titan/Gemini rockets. Dr. Friedman says they two had to be refurbished.

FRIEDMAN: Turns out that as strong as aircraft and space grade metals are….pigeon poop is stronger.

For WNYC…I’m Richard Hake.