Science Factory in works

By Jon Rutter, Staff Writer
Sunday News

The notion blossomed spontaneously Thursday, in the best tradition of science.
Converting an elevated office in a northeast Lancaster factory building to a toy airplane "flight deck" would be a great idea, agreed Jim Bunting and Ray and Lisa Shirk. "I'll be throwing as many paper airplanes as anyone," predicted Mr. Shirk after a tour of the proposed Lancaster Science Factory at 454 New Holland Ave.

The Shirks are leasing part of the building to the Science Factory, which is expected to open next January after extensive building renovations.

And then the couple and their kids and grandkids will have a whole raft of experimental learning options.

Like creating an earthquake, or building their own truss bridge, rollercoaster or race car.

Like pedaling a bicycle to convert "people power" into electricity.

And that's just for starters.

The Science Factory will house about 40 exhibits and displays that will change on a regular basis, said Bunting, who is spearheading the project.

Aimed at all students and families, but especially children in grades 3 through 8, the center has a multifold mission.

Adjacent to Urban Place, an ambitious  redevelopment of the old Kerr Glass complex by Morgan Court Partners, the center should be a sparkplug for city revitalization and regional tourism.

But the top goal is to inspire excitement and curiosity about math and science among kids, who, in this country, are falling behind in those subjects.

The educational gap portends a serious societal decline, worries Bunting, citing a 2005 National Academy of Sciences report called "Rising Above the Gathering Storm."

According to the academy, this country graduated 70,000 engineers in 2004, while India graduated 200,000 and China about 500,000.

Bunting said one reason less than a third of American undergraduates earn degrees in science and engineering is that schools do not make such topics interesting or accessible.

"Every little kid has unlimited potential to do wonderful things," according to Bunting, who said city students and especially girls, who are underrepresented in the sciences, will be target audiences.

But not all youngsters benefit equally from the traditional classroom lecture scenerio.

Many children learn more efficiently by seeing and doing, he said. And that's where an interactive science center comes in.

"The idea is that our facility will be a science lab" where kids can physically explore principles taught in the classroom, Bunting said.

Neatest place

Part of a growing nationwide trend, the Science Center process has evolved quietly here for nearly four years.

Bunting, a former advertising executive in Lancaster, has lead the charge along with more than 20 other community leaders, including Bill Griscom, president of the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, and businessman S. Dale High.

The center was incorporated Aug. 13, 2004; the actual building will be called the Lancaster Science Factory.

The group is partnering with the School District of Lancaster in Gov. Ed Rendell's "Science: It's Elementary!" program to beef up science classes with hands-on tools.

Bunting is inviting the community to participate in the center's "E=MC² Capital Campaign," which seeks to raise $1 million in public and private funding for the initial establishing phase of the center.

He noted that businesses have been  eligible to contribute to the project and be considered for state Educational Improvement Tax Credits since last July 1.

EITC funding will pay for exhibits within the School District of Lancaster's "Science Lab" program for elementary and middle school students.

Some Science Factory support will come from $70 annual family memberships and admission fees, which will be $4 for children and $6 for adults.

Bunting said a "critical objective" is to provide every county child with access to the facility.

"That's a big task" that proponents are working on with the School District of Lancaster, the Bright Side Opportunity Center  and the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster, among others.

A 6-month building retrofit by E.G. Stoltzfus Construction is set to kick off on April 1 this year. Installation of exhibits, some of which are being built by Millersville University and other local entities, will begin Oct. 1.

Educational themes will include optics and light, air and flight, water, physics, electricity and magnetism.

Kids will be able to follow their curiosity at mini-work stations, a puzzle area, a science "cafe" and a classroom.

A small staff, including volunteers, will provide guidance, Bunting said, but the center will emphasize self-directed learning.

"Each exhibit or station gives the kids freedom to do it their own way."

The Science Factory is scheduled to open Jan. 1, 2008. Bunting anticipates 40,000 visitors in the first year.

The average small science and technology center draws 73,000 visitors annually, according to Bunting, who anticipates phased growth. His group has an option to lease 10,000 additional square feet of space.

The center will likely draw much of its tourism audience from Lancaster and surrounding counties.

That's in keeping with national demographics, said Charlie Trautmann, executive director of Sciencenter in Ithaca, N.Y., one of several valued mentors to the local project.

Trautmann said a national study of attendance he did a few years ago showed "They all have the same basic pattern in that  three-fourths of the visitors come from within an hour's drive."

 Eric Shirk, 29, program manager  and part owner of the Lancaster building with his parents, "expects to be a patron," he said.

"My wife just had twins, a girl and a boy ... I think this is going to be one of the neatest places in the county to bring your family."

Pool of talent

The learning center idea began solidifying though the Shirks didn't know it at the time in 2005 when they bought the capacious 1934 brick factory building.

Securus Group Inc., the couple's financial company, inhabits the third floor while Acuity Advisors will remain on the second.

The Science Factory will move into an 11,000-square-foot ground-floor space now occupied by the Lancaster Mattress Company.

The building was part of the former Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corp. complex, which includes a 1901 building designed by famed local architect C. Emlen Urban.

Last week, crews were hard at work renovating nearby factory buildings.

Urban Place will feature retail space, restaurants, high-end loft apartments and, possibly, a ballroom, according to Morgan Court Partners' Jill Baldwin Fanning, developer of the site with her father, Barry J. Baldwin.

"I hope to have it all rented in two years," added Fanning, who said the Science Factory will nicely complement Urban Place.

"We're very excited."

Ditto for Bunting, who said his group scouted 16 previous sites.

The safe, easily accessible historic neighborhood minutes from Penn Square is a perfect fit, Bunting added. So are the building's large windows, steel girders, 30-foot ceilings and its landlords.

"Just unlimited generosity" from the Shirks has made the effort possible, Bunting said. "They believe in this project."

Ray Shirk said he expects to start a restaurant in an unused portion of the ground floor "to support Jim and the Science Center."

Mrs. Shirk noted that she and her husband share Bunting's appreciation for individualized, open-ended learning.

"We have a grandson that has physical and mental challenges," she said. Any environment that allows a nontraditional learner to express himself is heartening.

"No kid should ever feel that they're not valuable ... and precious."

Or, for that matter, bored, said Karen Schloer, the chief professional officer of the Boys and Girls Club.

"The regular classroom science is, I think, blah," explained Schloer, who is a Science Center board member.

Electronics and other elements provide a high distraction level in society, she pointed out. "Kids need a little more nowadays" to hold their attention. "This is going to bring that stimulation."

Schloer said the center will enhance existing educational programs and tap a vast pool of easily-overlooked juvenile talent.

"Sometimes to find out what we love, we need to experience it," she explained. "If Tiger Woods never picked up a golf club, would he be Tiger Woods?"

Diane Patton, science coordinator for the School District of Lancaster, said in an e-mail that the center supports the active science learning model embraced by the district since 2000.

"The science experiences encourage and deepen the natural curiosity of children," she wrote. "The Science Center will be an extension of the learning for our students."

Bill Griscom, the Stevens College of Technology president, said the new center will especially buoy disadvantaged "digital divide" students who might not have easy access to computers.

Not every student becomes a research scientist, he added, but it's just as important for kids to develop technological literacy so they can make intelligent decisions about issues such as health care, poverty and the environment.

"Jefferson said democracy presumes an informed electorate," Griscom noted. "Our country is at risk."