Tomorrow's Science Center
Science center designs periodically jump toward new models to adapt to changing public needs.
First-generation museums held scientific artifacts and were research centers in their own right. The Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers and the Franklin Institute are two exemplars, founded in 1794 and 1824, respectively.
Second-generation centers , such as the Deutsches Museum and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, added public education to the portfolio. These two examples were founded in 1906 and 1933, respectively.
Third-generation centers, the New York Hall of Science, the Lawrence Hall of Science, and the Exploratorium, built solely for public education, sought to enhance patron/exhibit interactions. They were founded in the mid 20th century.
A Timely Opportunity
Now, there is a new opportunity to create a fourth-generation model, one that not only embraces patrons, but also responds to changing societal conditions that call for new rigor in informal science education. This is a founding belief of the Iowa Space Science Center (ISSC).
In the following pages of this section, we present our vision of how a thoroughly designed, new-generation science center can rekindle interest in science, provide resources of expertise, and help recover the once-prominent position that science occupied in our culture, school curricula, and even in our minds. This vision includes a multi-dimensional presentation of science that goes well beyond the "what" and explores why we invented science and how closely linked it is to the human need to understand, overcome, and advance.
The Vision for a Next Generation Science Center
The Iowa Space Science Center (ISSC) plan aims to provide a comprehensive educational facility to Iowans. Its focus on space science will capitalize on its public appeal and breadth of physical science concepts encompassed by astronomy, astrophysics, and planetary sciences.
The ISSC will be the regional authority for promoting science literacy and an exemplary model for informal science education. It will look beyond established approaches to create new environments for the presentation of great moments in science, its essential methods, key figures, and the very human stories that make the long history of science compelling and relevant.
To do so, the ISSC will require the marshalling of expertise, resources, and innovative thoughts that are part of Iowa's best heritage. In a real way, the ISSC will be part of Iowa's robust answer to our generation's "Sputnik Moment". Just as science itself is the culmination of cooperative and concerted efforts of many individuals, the success of the ISSC will reflect the efforts of many Iowans and the many talents they can bring to this vision.
The ISSC will exploit multiple presentation techniques to provide thought-provoking experiences and patron choices for exhibit encounters. The ISSC will be part of a societal solution to promote physical science careers and science literacy. And it will be a national resource on the legacy of Dr. James A. Van Allen, Iowa's most famous scientist.
Mission Statement
The Iowa Space Science Center (ISSC) will promote science literacy and provide educational programming and exhibits in the space sciences. It will also honor Iowa's rich space-science history, including that of James Van Allen, Iowa's most famous scientist. It will provide experiences to patrons of a wide range of ages and degrees of interest. It will be run as a non-profit business.
Tax-exempt non-profit 501(c)(3) status of The Iowa Space Science Center is pending.