Bringing New Life to Science Education

The Connecticut Science Center is bringing discovery and exploration to thousands of visitors since it opened in the spring of 2009. Located at Adriaen's Landing in Hartford, the Science Center is a world-class science education facility and fosters an appreciation of science by immersing visitors of all ages in fun and educational interactive experiences.

Overlooking the Connecticut River, the Science Center uses "green" energy technology — thanks to help from Connecticut Light & Power and the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund — and is one of the most energy efficient science centers in the country, housing more hands-on exhibits on all aspects of science, including engineering, technological advances, the mysteries of outer space.

Among the exhibit galleries are Planet Earth, Exploring Space, The Picture of Health, Forces in Motion, and Invention Dimension. The Science Center has a 3-D digital cinema, four classrooms, a special events room and a café.

"Our goal," explained Dr. Theodore Sergi, former president and chief executive officer of the Connecticut Science Center, "is to excite visitors about the sciences and engineering, and influence the workforce of the future." Today's Science Center visitors could be tomorrow's scientists, doctors, inventors, teachers and engineers.

The $150 million project brings to fruition a Connecticut institution that is long overdue. A $1.5 million grant from the Northeast Utilities Foundation helped make the Science Center possible.

"Northeast Utilities has been with us from the very beginning," said Dr. Sergi. "They are one of a handful of outstanding corporate citizens who are really making this happen."

The Northeast Utilities Foundation grant funded the Science Center's physical science gallery, Forces in Motion. Visitors to Forces in Motion have the opportunity to operate a ball-throwing robot, build a vehicle that hovers over its track by magnetic levitation, design and fly a helicopter, and experiment with a high-speed video camera that captures motion at 1,000 frames per second.

"This very generous gift from the Northeast Utilities Foundation brings us closer to our dream of establishing a world-class destination and educational resource facility for families and school groups alike," said Dr. Sergi.