Innovative mobile science exhibit makes first visit to Greene County Fair
Those who attend the Greene County Fair from 2 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 11 will see something new 鈥� a 55-foot-long, 35-foot-wide trailer with the words 鈥淧ower Your Future鈥� on the side.
This innovative mobile science exhibit on wheels uses touch screen, interactive game-based activities that lets participants explore the natural gas industry, careers based in the energy industry such as chemistry and geology and land reclamation alternatives.
After coming through the door, participants will be transported to a new world via space age sounds and vibrant blue lighting, then be able to play eight different science based games.
One game takes their photo, then asks questions about things they enjoy. A computer then takes this information and points out careers they might be interested in. It also shows their face in the photo dressed as someone working in their suggested career such as a chemist dressed in a white uniform.
Another game, 鈥淩eclaim the Land,鈥� gives players a chance to restore the land following energy extraction and create one of three scenarios 鈥� a park, a farm or a wildlife habitat. In 60 minutes, they are given a list of things they can purchase to fill up the site along with a budget. They will then be able to fill in their landscape with items found at the bottom of the touch screen such as a barn, picnic tables, a gazebo, a baseball diamond and more.
鈥淓ach item has a different price, and the goal is to fill up the screen with items below budget and within the allotted time,鈥� said Melissa Rhodes, professional development coordinator and technology education specialist at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia.
The nonprofit located in Charleston owns the mobile science exhibit and has been going to schools in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio since April of 2015 as part of its outreach program.
鈥淭he participants can play by themselves against their own score, against fellow classmates or against the computer,鈥� Rhodes said. 鈥淭he exhibit can hold about 20 visitors at a time, and driver Eric Wright and I will be on hand to answer questions and explain how to play the games .鈥�
The exhibit is geared to families, and Rhodes said the activities should be enjoyable to adults interested in learning more about the natural gas industry and playing interactive games. Admission to the exhibit is free of charge, and participants can enter the air conditioned vehicle as many times as they want.
In the last school year, the mobile science exhibit made 110 school visits. Although it hasn鈥檛 yet visited any Greene County schools, plans are to make stops this coming school year at the Carmichaels Elementary School, the Margaret Bell Miller Middle School, the Jefferson-Morgan Middle School and the West Greene Middle School. The visits are grant funded and free to participating schools. Any schools interested in the program should contact Rhodes by phone at 304-561-3567 or by email at mrhodes@theclaycenter.org.
EQT is sponsoring the visit to this year蘑菇视频 Greene County Fair, and Ellen Rossi, EQT Foundation manager, made the request that the mobile unit visit the fair this summer. Those that might not be able to visit the exhibit on Aug. 11 have an additional chance to see it during the EQT Regatta in Pittsburgh on Aug. 5, 6 and 7.