Traveling national exhibit on waterways marries the arts and science at the Clay Center
by Lydia Nuzum
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Like many cities, Charleston was built on a river -- one that shaped the course of its history and something the Clay Center hopes will attract visitors to its latest exhibit.
STEAMworks, the Clay Center's new gallery, will open to the public Saturday. Its first exhibit, RiverWorks Discovery: A Journey of Exploration and Imagination on America's Waterways, features displays from the the National Rivers Hall of Fame, at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa.
"The exhibit travels all over the country, and while we've had this in the works for a while, I don't think it could've come at a better time, when we're talking about conserving our waterways in view of the recent water crisis," said R. Lewis Ferguson, director of arts and science education for the ClayCenter. "I think this will be a great opportunity for people to learn about the conservation, commerce and culture of rivers. Charleston is a river city, and we wouldn't be here if it weren't for the river."
A temporary exhibit, RiverWorks will be open to the public until June 29. The space previously housed the center's Gizmo Factory, a display Ferguson described as a "physics arcade" that had been featured on the lower floor of the Clay Center since it opened in 2003. According to Ferguson, the gallery, which featured more than 30 exhibits exploring physical science and emphasing creativity and engineering, is not retired forever -- the center plans to re-use some of its exhibits upstairs.
"The exhibit had been here for 10 years, and we really wanted to re-imagine the space," Ferguson said. "STEAM [science, technology, engineering, art and math] education has become a great focus of ours over the last several years, and it's really what the Clay Center does the best -- under one roof, we have the arts, both visual and performing, as well as science and technology, so it really was a perfect fit."
The Clay Center hopes to feature at least two galleries in the space each year. Judy Wellington, president and CEO of the Clay Center, said the vision for STEAMworks was to allow the center more opportunities for art-science integration.
"STEAM education is a very holistic view of education and is able to marry science, technnology, engineering, art and math; one of the the things we really liked about this exhibit is that it gives a very holistic view of the river," Wellington said. "It not only talks about commerce on rivers, but it talks about conservation, and brings different concepts together for an encompassing view of our world."
The exhibit features interactive pieces, including a touch-screen display that allows users to follow the life cycles of native fish from different U.S. rivers, live box turtles, ribbon snakes and other native species, and an artist water table. Jerry Enzler, executive director of the National Mississippi River Museum, said the central focus of the traveling exhibit is to remind people of the numerous ways rivers have impacted history and culture in the United States, as well as the scientific and enviromental concerns surrounding them.
"Our goal is to engage the public, especially children, in the story of rivers -- the commerce and culture, both past and present, and the importance of their continued conservation," Enzler said. "We're excited for the opportunity to contribute, to remember our rivers and to look forward to what they offer in value to all of us."
The exhibit has traveled all across the country in the past seven months, including Baton Rouge, Memphis and New Orleans, and has reached more than 100,000 people in that time, according to Enzler. After leaving Charleston, the exhibit will make stops in Nashville, Columbus, Minneapolis, St. Louis and other cities.
"We've really focused a lot of our exhibits and our programming on arts-science integration, so when our visitors come in, we want to make sure that, no matter where they are in the museum, they get a really full experience incorporating both the arts and the sciences," said Clay Center spokeswoman LeAnn Dickens. "We revamped this gallery so that we could bring in exhibits and create exhibits that integrate those things."
According to Ferguson, the Clay Center plans to create its first in-house exhibit for the space in July. STEAMworks admission is included in regular museum gallery admission, which is free for museum members, $6 for children and $7.50 for adults.
For more information, visit www.theclaycenter.org.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia.nu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.