With addition of Art, Hands-On Museum moves from a STEM-  to STEAM-powered experience

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news

The pandemic, wildfires and resulting decline in tourism to Ashland nearly shut down ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum. 

Last year, ScienceWorks was expected to close by April, said Cynthia Salbato, a board member of the museum. Instead, the institution made it through the year and has been steadily working to reinvent itself. Earlier this month, its doors opened again to an institution leaning on its strengths — questioning, exploring and reinventing itself. 

Salbato and Addison Carroll, exhibit manager, opened the doors to Ashland.news recently for a tour of the museum’s reimagining process. Colorful sticky notes dotted exhibits throughout the space. Noon Year’s Eve event debris remained scattered, some rooms were partially empty while others were cluttered with pieces of exhibits past or dangling cords. But Salbato and Carroll were enthusiastic about the museum’s reinvention.

Walking into the Da Vinci’s Garage tinkering space, Carroll said the space had been rearranged since that morning and would be recreated again before the process was done. 

Salbato pointed to a display case as an example of the work going on throughout the museum. The case was filled with model space shuttles that would soon be moved to the existing outer space exhibit in the main exhibit room. The display case in Da Vinci’s Garage will then be open for the Lego creations museum visitors make in the Garage — an opportunity for visitors to be inspired by the works of others or take pride in seeing their creations on display. 

Throughout the building all the exhibits are undergoing this same process, reorganizing and clarifying the narrative stories every space has to tell and realizing each to its fullest potential, Carroll said. 

Salbato was proud to say the Garage is a space where children and parents create together, an experience museum staff are eager to encourage. Other collaborative spaces include a spot to build a course for falling marbles and facilitated tinkering experiences featuring tools from hot glue guns to soldering irons. 

“We have this awesome stuff, we need to just tweak it a little bit to make it more hands on, more universal, and just fun,” Carroll said. 

ScienceWorks was originally created to be a Southern Oregon sized version of the OMSI museum of Portland, Salbato said. But in a smaller region without the funding options of a big city, it has been difficult. To thrive, the museum needs to appeal to the broadest possible audience, continually offering a diverse variety of novel experiences. 

One way the institution hopes to achieve this feat is the transition from a STEM museum, (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), to a STEAM museum, with an A for art. The critical letter A will allow ScienceWorks to participate in events like First Fridays, join the Ashland Gallery Association, incorporate new creative exhibits and potentially access new pools of funding, Salbato said. 

Just outside the Da Vinci Garage, she pointed to an example of another effort, leaning on the “Hands On” facet of the museum. The Harmnograph — a mechanism invented by physicist Jules Lissajous in 1857 according to the placard on the wall nearby. The device uses a swinging table to make pictures “with harmonic motion.” 

The exhibit has been popular but can be difficult for visitors to enjoy because ScienceWorks staff have to be available to operate it, she said. Staff are reengineering this and other exhibits to make it safe for visitors to operate themselves.

A hallway nearby was previously a noisy space filled with hands-on exhibits, she said, but this space is being reinvented with another facet of the museum’s reimagination — catering to the needs of all potential visitors. 

“In the past we’ve been like, ‘Come in and be scientists, be explorers,’ and we’ve realized that doesn’t work for everyone,” Salbato said. 

The space will become a “hub and spoke system,” she said, with wayfinding maps for those who want more guidance, a calendar of community events and a community board where visitors can leave comments and suggestions. 

“We’re really leaning into, ‘This is our museum’ so that when people come in they feel not just welcome but that they get to shape the museum,” she said. 

ScienceWorks is also expanding a series of new partnerships. The Ashland Film Festival will be showing films in the museum theater and will likely use the theater for its festival in the spring, Salbato said. ScienceWorks will also be showing a variety of films in the space, previously unused. The museum is working on a contract to bring the Ashland Grower’s Market into their parking lot on Tuesdays. A partnership with Ashland.news is still in the beginning stages. Ashland Aerial Arts has also begun offering classes at the museum. 

Just off the main exhibit space, Salbato pointed to a room filled with pieces of previous exhibits. A place where exhibits have gone to sleep, she said. But staff are steadily puzzling out how to use the space to bring back the beloved bubble room. 

“Everyone always asks, ‘When are you bringing back the bubble room?’ Part of the challenge is the bubble room is very hard on a building,” she said. 

The soap residue was difficult to control, but with astroturf, potential booties for visitors and the discovery of an existing trench under the floor where bubble soap could drain, the exhibit will likely make a return. 

Staff are sensitive to the aspect of nostalgia some visitors may have for the 21-year-old institution. Some exhibits will remain largely unchanged. Some older exhibit pieces will become a carnival space. And, the museum will remain open to ideas from visitors and community members. 

“We’re here for the long haul. Things will continue to change. For a museum to remain interesting, to spark wonder and curiosity, it needs to change. … We’re emergent right now, and our audience and community will decide what we become. … Bring us your best ideas for how to keep ScienceWorks thriving,” she said. 

Salbato encouraged not only ideas but donations, memberships, visitation and volunteering. The museum needs all the help possible to grow and thrive for the future, she said.

For more, go to the museum website at scienceworksmuseum.org.

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.