MURRAY, Ky.  – The World We Create Traveling Exhibit, coming soon from the Louisville Science Center to Murray State University allows visitors of all ages to explore applied science, technology and engineering in hands-on activities that are as fun as they are educational.
             The World We Create Traveling Exhibit will be in the Carmen Pavilion, located at Murray State’s West Farm (adjacent to the Cherry Agricultural Exposition Center on College Farm Road). The exhibit will be open to the public from Jan. 19 through Feb. 6 from 3-8 p.m. Student groups can visit the exhibit, by appointment, from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission is free for everyone.
             Based on the popular permanent exhibit at the Louisville Science Center, The World We Create Traveling Exhibit features 10 exciting, interactive stations where visitors experience how human creativity solves problems and advances technology. Designed for families and students in kindergarten through grade 12, the traveling  
exhibit is organized around three “real world” themes:  Construction Zone, Transit Hub and Tech Works.
             In the Construction Zone, visitors operate a mechanical crane at the Build It Up station to learn about the teamwork and precision involved in the construction of buildings. At Toppling Towers, they’ll see if their structure can withstand a simulated  
earthquake. Visitors work together to build a seven-foot foam arch at Building Bridges or they challenge themselves to build a dome structure at the Engineering Tabletops.
             In the Transit Hub, the Get It In Gear station is comprised of a series of interlocking gears where visitors learn more about the heart of the machines that move them every day. At Getting from Here to There, teams of visitors work together to take a ball on the quickest route through a tilt-top maze of a town. A Wind Tunnel encourages users to test the aerodynamic properties of differently-shaped vehicles.
             In Tech Works, visitors use an innovative computer software program called Design-A-Bike to assemble the bike of their dreams — then evaluate their success in practical terms, such as cost, durability and strength. For ideas worth trying, they can turn to Test Your Ideas, where motorized parts and power stations put building projects into motion. Just In Time lets visitors experience a manufacturing simulation, using planning, coordination and timing.
             The World We Create brings home the message that “Everyone is a creative problem-solver.”
             The World We Create, which opened at the Louisville Science Center in 1997, was designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates of New York City. Ralph Appelbaum Associates has designed many award-winning exhibitions, including the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D. C. Both the permanent and traveling exhibits were engineered and fabricated by Design Craftsmen Inc. The traveling version of The World We Create is a 2,500-square-foot exhibit that is available to Kentucky communities more than 100 miles from the Louisville Science Center. Exhibit construction was funded by a grant from Gov. Paul Patton and the 1998 General Assembly of the Kentucky Legislature. This project was also supported in part by the National Science Foundation.
             The Louisville Science Center is a not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to improving public understanding of science, math and technology through interactive exhibits and programs. The Science Center houses the only IMAX Theatre in  
Kentucky, is the state’s largest field trip destination, and welcomed over 463,000 people last year.
             For more information or to schedule a school fieldtrip, contact Cindy Cossey at the Conservation District Office at (270) 767-0491 or 293-2906.