New State-of-the-Art Visitors' Center

New State-of-the-Art Visitors' Center
BY ALLISON CHILDS WELLS
Lab receives $1.7 million grant

The Lab's new visitors' center will have hallways lined with original paintings.
All images courtesy of Science Museum of Minnesota

The National Science Foundation recently awarded $1.7 million to the Lab of Ornithology for a new visitors' center with the theme "Understanding Birds." The state-of-the-art facility will offer a hands-on, multimedia learning experience for visitors of all skill levels and backgrounds.

"This grant will allow us to provide our visitors with unique, interactive experiences for learning about birds and other wildlife, and will encourage them to explore and test scientific concepts," says Lab director John Fitzpatrick. "Our goal will be to ensure that our visitors leave with a greater comprehension of birds and science and with the confidence to join in our research by becoming part of our continentwide network of citizen scientists."

The visitors' center will be part of the Lab's new facility, scheduled for completion in spring 2003. The centerpiece, The Listening Center, will provide a spectacular audiovisual "virtual" experience with birds. Surround-sound, video screens, and other tools will enhance interactive learning. Users can learn how to count flocks of birds or conduct a bird census. They will be able to take a virtual bird walk, with or without a "guide," and to appreciate the importance of the dawn chorus in vastly different places around the world.

A magnificent wall of windows will overlook the Lab's pond and its waterfowl.

The exhibits will include "The Bird Family Tree," which will encourage users to think like a scientist about the ways different bird species are related and engage them in the techniques scientists use to find out if they are correct. Additional exhibits will teach visitors bird identification skills vital for understanding and appreciating birds and biological diversity. Visitors will also be able to learn about field techniques and basic scientific methodology.

All of the exhibits will draw upon the Lab's extensive resources, including the world's largest library of natural sound recordings, a growing array of video footage of bird behavior, an extensive collection of original artwork, and several thousand photographic images of birds. The exhibits are already well

Visitors will enjoy multimedia audiovisual experiences in the Listening Center.

underway, with help from experts at the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Lab's subcontractor for exhibit development.

In addition to the thousands of people who visit the Lab each year, the exhibits will entertain and educate people across the country who are unable to travel to the Lab's home base in Sapsucker Woods. The exhibits will be designed for easy export to nature centers and educational institutions throughout the United States, furthering the Lab's mission to help promote the public's understanding of birds.