The Cincinnati Museum Center, located in the historic Union Terminal building, has been undergoing major renovations over the last 2.5 years. Once a bustling passenger train station, the venue continues to thrive as a hub of knowledge, discovery and learning. In 2018, CMC contracted with Roto to design and build their new 4,000 square-foot Science Hall, which would bring hands-on Science Interactives to the museum for the first time. The premise was simple yet effective, in that the gallery would leverage many of Roto’s suite of tried-and-true interactive replications and existing R&D in order to compile a collection of “Hall of Fame” science interactives. Each activity was chosen in order to touch on a broad range of science and physics phenomena throughout the gallery from simple machines and the laws of motion to explorations of heat and aerodynamics and even the formation of natural phenomena like tornadoes and toroidal vortices while at the same time, maintaining the core values of being hands-on, repeatable and highly engaging for visitors. Key interactives include a cloud maker, spinning table, ball and gear wall, air cannons, an infrared “temp tattoo” kiosk, and an impressive 15’ tall tornado vortex!
