Right next to Autzen Stadium and Alton Baker Park is a children’s paradise. The Science Factory Children’s Museum & Exploration Dome@@http://www.sciencefactory.org/@@ was once merely a seed of hope for a Eugene children’s science museum in 2002. Since then, more than 30,000 visitors have experienced what is now a successful and growing nonprofit, supported by local residents, businesses and foundations. Thanks to the Exhibit Hall, Exploration Dome, and the special events offered, The Science Factory inspires in children a love of science and learning.
The Exhibit Hall has an ongoing iguana and lizard terrarium wherein lizards, plants and frogs from regions all over the world interact with one another while Renegade, the resident iguana, bids visitors a peek into his nearby home.
The Tot Spot is another ongoing exhibit. It’s designed for children under the age of 5 and is complete with underwater murals of ocean animals, a giant play boat and a make-believe tide pool touch tank.
The Exhibit Hall’s most popular attractions, however, are the ones sponsored to be seasonal. “Attack of the Bloodsuckers!” examines the anatomies, behaviors, and life cycles of parasites, “Energyville” visitors pedal bicycles hard and fast enough to propel a model train, and the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition showcases award-winning microscopic life images.
Visitors can also enter the Exploration Dome, a dome-shaped theater providing nothing to look at besides an encompassing screen. Whether the topic is the Hubble Space Telescope, black holes, prehistoric sea monsters, dinosaurs, rainforest bugs, or the Seven Wonders of the World, no show is a small affair and no show is uninteresting.
In fact, the term “uninteresting” doesn’t describe anything in the Science Factory. With the help of the community, The Science Factory remains (and always will remain) a paradise, turning the hearts of Eugene youth to science upon every visit.