Impression 5 plans $450,000 Water Room exhibit

Impression 5 Science Center is planning a new $450,000 exhibit: a two-story permanent “water park” that will combine play with education.

The project has received a $250,000 commitment from the Rotary Club of Lansing to mark the club’s 100th anniversary, which is next year.

“When this is completed two years from now, this will be the most significant project in the history of the Science Center,” Eric Larson, the center’s director, told Rotary on Friday.

Larson compared it in importance to the purchase of the center’s building on Museum Drive in downtown Lansing, which he said was $477,000.

Rotary will have naming rights for the room. Rotary International is involved in clean water projects around the globe.

Fundraising for the remaining $200,000 is going “very well,” Larson said. “I am confident and not worried that we are going to move forward on this project and maybe even eclipse the goal of $450,000.”

The Rotary newsletter described the new exhibit this way:

“In terms of design, the room will have areas where water flows, twists and turns through the exhibit, and where an Archimedes screw is worked to move water to an upper level. There will even be an apparatus that shoots water 30 feet into the air! It will fit with Impression 5´s effort to meet educational objectives through play. It will connect content to education and present a challenging environment that will create interaction between families and visitors.”

The Science Center began in 1972 and serves 120,000 people a year, according to its website. Larson told Rotary that the Science Center “is thriving.” He said that since Oct. 1, attendance is up 20,000 over the previous year.

“That’s because we’re building new exhibits. Can you imagine what that’s going to look like when they see this new Water Room?”