By Sara Thompson
Special to the Enterprise
With our Summer Science Camps behind us, Explorit is looking ahead and planning how we are going to open again safely for our guests, staff, and volunteers. Our staff members and Board of Directors have come up with a plan for reopening our exhibit as well as a staggered offering of our school programs. We want all our programs to be in the best shape possible and safe for all of our guests.
The first thing our staff is working on is reopening our exhibit. We have repainted our space and given our animals some updates to their enclosures. In the coming weeks we will be building our next exhibit “Healthy Planet, Healthy You”, which focuses on environmental issues such as air quality, ocean trash, and more! Our back-yard pollinator garden is also getting a facelift with picnic tables, a new watering system in place, and more drought tolerant plants to help reduce our water consumption.
We will reopen our exhibit to the public in October, beginning with our Grand Reopening Event the weekend of October 2nd and 3rd. Saturday will include local vendors to help us celebrate, with a special make-and-take craft happening all weekend long. Facemasks are required for our grand opening event and during regular public hours. To limit the number of people in the museum at a time, guests are required to reserve a timeslot to visit the museum, which you can do at https://www.explorit.org/events. We can't wait to see you there!
After our exhibit is open, we will begin hosting school programs at our site. Schools will still have the same choices before of Discovery Lesson and Nature Safari. Discovery Lessons are an educator facilitated exploration of our current exhibit. A Nature Safari is a tour of the surrounding park and discussions about native, non-native, and invasive animal and plant species. Inquiry Labs will be available in November, and are held in our classroom where students solve challenges in a group. Teachers can choose which Inquiry Lab topic they want their students to explore, which are Electricity, Energy, Fossil Forensics, and States of Matter.
After the New Year, we will be ready to head back out on the road and begin delivering outreach programs. In the past we have serviced 18 counties in Northern California, and we hope to return to them all again soon in the coming years. Our outreach programs will begin more limited than in the past as we continue to update and train new employees but will expand as our staff does. Schools can reserve small, classroom sized programs called Classroom Adventures and choose between the topics of Amazing Animals, Earth’s Features, and Simple Machines. Or schools can reserve a Family Science Night, where we set up several tables worth of activities in the multipurpose room for the whole family. The Family Science Night topic is also “Healthy Planet, Healthy You” and will cover similar concepts as our in-house exhibit.
Schools and teachers also have the opportunity to reserve a Virtual School Program. We have adapted our Amazing Animals and Earth’s Features programs to be done over Zoom or other virtual meeting programs for students to experience a live, educator led science program.
Explorit is optimistic about our reopening plan with safety procedures in place for the health and safety of our guests, school groups, volunteers, and staff members. We look forward to reopening and continuing to provide fun and engaging science activities and inspiring the scientists of tomorrow.
Explorit's coming events:
• Explorit's grand reopening will be the weekend of October 2nd! We have been updating our facility and building our next exhibit and we are so excited to show it off to our guests. Learn more at https://www.explorit.org/grand-reopening and reserve tickets for the opening at https://www.explorit.org/events.
• Like many small businesses the closures have had a significant impact on our income and sustainability. Now is a great time to donate and help Explorit continue to educate and inspire the scientists of tomorrow: https://www.explorit.org/donate.
• Continue to support Explorit during this uncertain time by becoming a member. An Exploit Membership not only support us but grants the recipient with free visits to Explorit’s regular public hours, discounts on events, summer and after-school camps, and workshops, and gives you ASTC benefits to visit other museums throughout the world. For more information visit https://www.explorit.org/membership or call Explorit at 530-756-0191.