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About Us |
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Press RoomMedia Contact: David Perry, (415) 864-6397 New Chabot Space & Science Center Opens In The Oakland Hills (Oakland, CA. August 11, 2000) -- The biggest and brightest star rising in the East Bay is the new Chabot Space & Science Center (CSSC) in Oakland, where the universe is at hand to experience and explore. Set amid thirteen trail-laced acres in Joaquin Miller Park, with glorious views of San Francisco Bay and the Oakland foothills, the $76-million complex offers a hands-on celebration of sights, sounds, and science. This state-of-the-art resource opens as one the nation's premier facilities for teaching the science and technologies of the 21st century and beyond. The new Science Center will serve over 250,000 visitors annually, including 50,000 public school children and 10,000 teachers, with a wide range of high-quality science education programs. The new Chabot Space & Science Center opens to the public on August 19, 2000, at 1 p.m. Michael D. Reynolds, Ph.D., Executive Director/CEO, described the potential for shaping the future of science and technology: "The beauty of the new Chabot Space & Science Center is that its emphasis -- astronomy and space exploration -- is something children and adults alike find fascinating. The universe does indeed touch our soul. And to give students an opportunity to learn about space in a hands-on, discovery way will hopefully stimulate them to consider science. We don't expect to make an astronaut or astronomer out of every student who comes through here, we just want to let them know they can do it if they want to." Highlights
The Science Center's Observatory, Planetarium, exhibits, classrooms, research labs, and programs engage visitors' natural fascination with stars and space, and encourage creativity and learning in the process of science discovery. CSSC's unique approach reveals the interrelation of all the sciences, while emphasizing connections between daily life and scientific principles. Using the exploration of astronomy and the earth's place in the universe as a starting point, Chabot Space & Science Center helps broaden awareness of all the sciences (physical and natural). CSSC's programs aim toward further understanding of how humans are interconnected with each other, and with the various environments and ecosystems that surround them -- from the local to the celestial. Mission and History The new Chabot Space & Science Center is an 86,000-square-foot state-of-the-art science and technology education facility. CSSC's Mission Statement expresses the organization's role as a center for science education: "Chabot Space & Science Center (CSSC) is an innovative teaching and learning center focusing on astronomy and the space sciences and the interrelationships of all sciences. Its observatory, planetarium, exhibits, and natural park setting are a place where a diverse population of students, teachers, and the public can imagine, understand, and learn to shape their future through science." Chabot Space & Science Center is the continuation and expansion of a public Observatory that has served San Francisco Bay Area schools and citizens with astronomy and science education programs for 117 years. The institution began in 1883 as the Oakland Observatory, through a gift from Anthony Chabot to the City of Oakland. The original Oakland Observatory was located in downtown Oakland, and provided public telescope viewing for the community. For decades, it served as the official timekeeping station for the entire Bay Area, measuring time with its transit telescope. The Observatory moved to its former Mountain Boulevard location in 1915 due to increasing light pollution and urban congestion downtown. In the mid-1960s, the facility was expanded considerably with the addition of a 90-seat Planetarium, science labs and classrooms, a library, workshops, and a small exhibit room. Throughout this time, the Chabot Science Center, as it was renamed, was staffed mainly by Oakland Unified School District personnel and volunteers. In 1977, seismic safety concerns terminated public school students' access to the original Observatory facility. The Observatory remained open to the general public, but school activities were limited to outlying classroom buildings and the Planetarium. Recognizing the need to restore full access to the facility, either by repair or relocation, in 1989 Chabot Observatory & Science Center was formed as a Joint Powers Agency with the City of Oakland, the Oakland Unified School District, and the East Bay Regional Park District, in collaboration with the Eastbay Astronomical Society, and in 1992 was recognized as a nonprofit organization. An agreement was reached to relocate to Joaquin Miller Park high in the Oakland Hills. The project broke ground in October 1996, and construction of the new Science Center began in May 1998. In January 2000, anticipating the opening of the new facility, the organization changed its name to Chabot Space & Science Center. The new name was chosen to better convey the focus on astronomy and the space sciences, while communicating the broad range and technologically advanced nature of programs available in the new Science Center. About the Facilities The new Chabot Space & Science Center occupies two buildings connected by a glass-enclosed Skybridge, an Observatory Complex, outdoor Amphitheatre, courtyards and gardens. The architectural design team was comprised of Design Architect Fisher-Freedman Associates of San Francisco, with Robert J. Geering, FAIA, as principal designer and Richard W. Smith, Ph.D., as Project Coordinator for Chabot Space & Science Center; and Gerson/Overstreet as Architect of Record. The landscape architecture firm of Keller Mitchell & Co. designed the entry motor court and the outdoor courtyards and spaces, with Jerrold Mitchell as principal designer, and collaboration from Jacque Keller, president of KMC. Morse Diesel International Inc. was the project builder. The east building, named the Spees Building in honor of founding Board member Richard L. Spees, houses the Ask Jeeves Planetarium, Tien MegaDome Theater, exhibit halls, classrooms and labs, Gift Shop and Cafe. The Ask Jeeves Planetarium, overseen by Director of Astronomy Jose Olivarez, is one of the most technologically advanced in the world, equipped with the Zeiss Universarium fiber-optic projector (one of only two in the U.S. -- the other at the new Hayden Planetarium in New York), augmented with lasers, special effects and surround sound. The 243-seat Planetarium received major sponsorship from the Ask Jeeves Foundation. The 210-seat Tien MegaDome Theater, with a 60-foot dome screen overhead, takes audiences on thrilling 360-degree journeys across space and around the world, using the Bay Area's only wide format, 70-mm projection system. Through the generosity of Mr. Richard Liu and other donors, the Tien MegaDome Theater honors Dr. Chang-Lin Tien, distinguished engineer and Professor of Engineering, and former U.C. Berkeley Chancellor. The west building, named the Dellums Building to honor former U.S. Congressman Ronald Dellums of Oakland, holds the Challenger Learning Center, Teacher Research Center, Astronomy Hall (with the solar and transit telescopes), Multimedia Studio, Computer Lab and administrative offices. Reynolds Observatory, named in recognition of CSSC Executive Director/CEO Michael Reynolds, is home to the Science Center's historic 8" Alvan Clark refractor telescope, known as "Leah" (the original 1883 instrument donated by founder Anthony Chabot), and the 20" refractor "Rachel," the largest refractor in the western United States regularly open to the public. The Observatory Complex also includes housing for a 36" Cassegrain reflector telescope, to be built in the coming months. Outdoor areas include the Amphitheatre, which doubles as a solar calendar and sundial, with a "Moon Garden" of plants that bloom at night; the Pleiades Courtyard, designed to meld astronomy and geology; and an EnviroGarden, slated to open in 2001. Leadership in Education Chabot Space & Science Center is taking a leadership role in helping to guarantee that Bay Area children have a powerful resource for the next century's biggest educational challenge -- equal access to high quality science and technology programs. The new Chabot Space & Science Center (CSSC) will address the critical issue of broad access to the specialized information and facilities needed to improve K-12 science education and public science literacy. CSSC will continue to offer inquiry-based student programs, which correlate to state and national science education standards, and will expand and develop new programs for students, teachers, and the general public. With the resources available at the new facility, the Astronomy, Education, and Media & Technology Departments will work together to provide three types of programs on-site and on-line: Student Programs: Innovative and effective on-site and outreach K-12 programs will serve over 50,000 school children annually, compared to the 10,000 students previously served. Teacher Programs: Up to 2,000 K-12 teachers annually will take part in professional development programs, and they in turn will reach up to 60,000 Bay Area students each year. Public Programs: More than 200,000 yearly visitors will have access to an array of science and technology tools, programs and exhibits. CSSC offers a wide range of educational programs for students of all ages, overseen by Eileen Engel, Director of Education. The Planetarium, Theater, Observatory Complex, exhibit halls, classrooms, labs and gardens are the setting for hands-on instruction in astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics. Programs range from a Discovery Lab for the youngest visitors, to Summer Camps and Afterschool Academies for children and teens, and Teacher Research Center and public programs for adults. Special efforts are made to reach segments of the community traditionally underrepresented in science and technology. Techbridge is a three-year program designed to enhance girls' interest and training in technology; FIRST: Female Involvement in Real Science and Technology provides hands-on science activities in selected Oakland elementary and middle schools. The Challenger Learning Center is a unique, hands-on learning experience that uses space exploration to create a positive learning experience, transforming participants into scientists, engineers, or researchers on simulated space missions -- complete with mission control and spacecraft. The Media & Technology Department, responsible for both on-site and on-line technology, will help guarantee CSSC's success as a world-renowned distance-learning center for K-12 teachers and students, and as an effective resource for the public. Programs overseen by Director of Media & Technology Etta Heber include the Virtual Science CenterSM, a high-capacity on-line, interactive agent providing access to CSSC's resources; distance-learning classes and on-line training; on-line access to curriculum materials; webcasts; and other resources available on-site and through the CSSC Web site: www.chabotspace.org National Partnerships Recognizing the new Chabot Space & Science Science Center as a national model for other communities, in May 1998 the Smithsonian Institution and CSSC entered into an affiliation agreement, making CSSC one of only 29 affiliates in the country and the only affiliate to focus on astronomy and the interrelationship of the sciences. In January 2000, the White House Millennium Council named Chabot Space & Science Center an official Millennium Project. The White House Millennium Council recognizes national and local projects that facilitate public awareness of important educational and scientific issues that the nation will face in the new millennium. Looking to the Future After many years of planning for the new Science Center, Bob Brauer, Chairman of CSSC's Board of Directors, gestures enthusiastically toward the new complex and says: "Chabot Space & Science Center seeks to use the wonders of the stars and the heavens to actively engage young people in the discovery of science, thereby creating a stronger, wider bridge to promising tomorrows. I believe that we will change the lives of children." ### | |||||||||||
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