It’s a great place to bring the children, said Arlene Dyer, about the grand re-opening of The Exploration Place Museum and Science Centre Saturday morning.
Dyer had two of her grandchildren with her, Madeline seven years old and Alice who is two.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Dyer said about the new space. “It’s just a really good place for the kids to learn and explore and it’s a nice safe place where we can come indoors.”
There is a new slide that takes guests of all ages from the second floor to the first floor - that means adults can enjoy it, too. (I asked because you can bet when I bring my grandson here I will take my turn down the slide!)
“It’s good,” Madeline said about the slide.
“The girls really liked the dinosaurs, too,” Dyer said.
There are several live animals on site and one captured Madeline’s attention.
“I like the turtle,” she said as she climbed upon the back of the giant wooden frog in the centre of the Biome.
The adventure starts when you first wind your way into Exploration Place as you are immediately immersed in the Gaia Paleobotany Hall where there are overwhelmingly high towers of flora. The exhibit brings to light the effects of climate change as seen from a deep-time perspective.
The most adorable creatures can be viewed in the toddler-friendly sitelined aquariums. They look like little cartoon characters and they are called Axolotls.
Apparently there has just been a new video game launched featuring the Axolotl so many children have already come into Gaia Hall screaming in delight as they can see the real-life amphibian who is a paedomorphic salamander.
“We are so glad to be open again,” Tracy Calogheros, chief executive officer for The Exploration Place, said. “The community missed us and we missed them.”
The Gaia Hall is all about climate change and the geologic record, Calogheros added.
“The concrete work matches the right stones from the right era, these are the right levels of striation depending on where you are in the room, the plants are all plants that are immediately related to the fossil records so you can find fossils of all the plants still out there so every plant in here is for that reason,” Calogheros explained.
“The wall of plants is aquaponics, not just hydroponics, so the plants are living off of the Axolotls’ poop – that’s what’s feeding the plants and the plants are cleaning the water the Axolotls are living in and the panel above it is its own self-contained loop.”
There are Sisyphus sand tables in the space as well that sees kinetic art, technology, design – and maybe a little bit of magic - being created before your eyes. It’s very beautiful and so meditative, especially if you are a toddler and then it’s quite mesmerizing as proven at the time of my visit where a youngster of about 18 months was fascinated by the magical art being created before her delighted eyes.
From the Gaia Hall you walk into the Link Gallery with a current exhibit on the importance of bees to your right and the sturgeon exhibit to your right and a couple of life-size surprises right in the middle.
Be sure to rediscover the Exploration Place to see bits of the history of Prince George icons, including Mr. PG who has his own gallery space, the Hoduleh-A Gallery to honour those who have been on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh for thousands of years and other Indigenous Nations in the region. Check out the steps the museum and science centre has taken to bring nature and the history of animals into a real-time way of learning. Find the nature exchange to bring and find treasures.
Visit Origins Kitchen for delicious meals and treats and wend your way through to the store that offers beautiful jewelry and so many toys and trinkets related to what has just been experienced by the people who have visited The Exploration Place.
It's a just a truly beautiful place that offers a year-round adventure in learning for all ages.
For more information visit www.theexplorationplace.com.
