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  Home Page » News » Discovery To Launch In October

Discovery to launch in October

Displays will emphasize hands-on science learning

by Katie Burford
Herald Staff Writer The countdown is on, say the minds behind Discovery Museum at the Powerhouse.

After years and years of planning, they have scheduled a grand opening for October of this year.

Haz Said, director of marketing and communications for the museum, called it exciting and “slightly terrifying."

“The time is passing very quickly, and we've got so much to do," he said in a phone interview Monday.

The power plant, located on Camino del Rio right before its junction with Main Avenue, was built in 1893 shortly after Durango's founding and was one of the first steam-powered alternating-current plants in the country.

It had been shut down for decades and faced possible demolition when the city signed a deal to lease the space for a museum that emphasizes energy and science.

Phase I, which included exterior renovation and environmental remediation at the site, was completed a couple of years ago for about $1.1 million.

Since then, organizers have been busy with Phase II, which included drawing up designs, planning exhibits and raising funds.

Construction on those plans is scheduled to begin at the site later this month. In all, the estimated cost of Phase II is $2 million.

Bob Kunkel, downtown business development manager for the city of Durango, said it will add a new and unique attraction to the downtown lineup.

“It's something totally different from anything we offer," he said.

He said it was one of various attractions that could come online in coming years. These include Lake Nighthorse, a downtown conference center and a county equestrian center.

The theme of the Discovery Museum is “energy: past, present and future."

One of the initial exhibits that will go in is an “e-tree," an interactive area that will teach about photosynthesis, “a real building block of energy production in the world," Said explained. There also will be exhibits on electricity generation and distribution.

“All of that involves people getting in and doing more than just reading about or looking at," Said noted, adding that it may even involve “getting a shock or two."

At a “take-apart" station, electronic components will be available for visitors to construct contraptions of their own imagining.

The grand opening, probably in the second or third week of October, will span three days and include yet undisclosed visitors and speakers.

“We're happy to be starting to deliver on some of this vision," Said said.

Durango Discovery Kids, formerly called the Children's Museum, is being integrated as a program of the Discovery Museum. It will move from its current location above the Durango Arts Center to the Powerhouse.

Phase III, slated to begin in 2013, will include more exhibit space and possibly a planetarium-style theater. It will cost about $3 million.

The price of admission or an annual membership has not been determined.

A membership drive is going on this month that offers a basic family membership for $60. It is good for Durango Discovery Kids as well as 350 discovery museums around the world, including those in Albuquerque and Denver. It also will be good for the Powerhouse when it opens.

Pedestrians will access the museum from downtown via a signalized crosswalk just north of 12th Street on Camino del Rio. An underground walkway still is in the plans for the future as funds become available.

kburford@durangoherald.com

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