Help Build A New Science Center In Central California

Here at the World of Wonders Science Museum, it’s our mission to offer hands-on science-based exhibits and programs to stimulate discovery for all ages. We have reached the full capacity of our current facilities and need to expand in order to continue pushing forward with our mission. This new facility would allow us to meet our three major goals: Expanding the reach of our current educational programs, strengthening and creating partnerships with higher education institutions, and creating an attraction to draw visitors to Lodi, California.

Expanding Current Educational Programs
One of the biggest improvements that our expansion will bring is the increased number of classrooms to be used by our Field Study Trip programs. At our current size, we are unable to accommodate all of the schools requesting to visit our museum for a Field Study Trip. This forces us to deny schools and robs students of valuable, hands-on STEM experiences.

Our expansion plans to add 3 new classrooms specifically for this program. This would quadruple our capacity and allow us to meet the current demand of schools wanting to participate in Field Study Trips. Additionally, we would be able to expand our reach to communities that are outside of our current range and invite more students to our museum.

In addition to expanding our Field Study Trip program, our expansion also provides much needed support for our WOW on Wheels program. The expansion will include an underground garage to securely hold our WOW on Wheels vans when they are not in use. Currently, they are housed in an unsecured public parking garage where we have previously dealt with break-ins. A designated parking space that keeps the vehicles secure at night will be a huge improvement that reduces the risk of break-ins and money spent on fixing the vehicles. This underground parking space will also have a large storage area for our WOW on Wheels program. This will save WOW on Wheels educators a considerable amount of time when compared with our current storage space located far away from where the vans are kept.

Attracting Visitors to Lodi, CA
Over the past decade Lodi, CA has set itself up as a tourism destination in California. The area has become well known for its wineries and people come from all over to get a taste. As visitors come to the area, they add to the local economy and contribute to the growing positive reputation of the area.

Since 2009, the WOW has acted as a tourist attraction that draws families into Lodi. Through this we have significantly contributed to the local economy. We contribute in a unique way to the local area and have gained support from many local people and businesses, but to continue to draw more people into the area, the WOW needs to expand.

To make our museum a destination that attracts families, our new facility will include a wide range of new exhibits and features including:
Outdoor plaza with space for outdoor exhibits
Photo op areas
Centrifugal force carousel
Cafe with outdoor eating area
3 classrooms
A fully equipped learning lab
Increased storage
Protected underground WOW On Wheels parking and storage area
Increased administration space
Huge indoor rooms for exhibits

Additionally, our expansion will create far more space for exhibits. We have so many great ideas and exhibits that we simply don’t have space for right now. The expansion will allow us to create and showcase more exhibits. The additional space will also allow us to properly space exhibits, so our facility does not feel overcrowded. We will be able to introduce more concepts to early learners and provide more advanced experiment stations for more advanced learners.

Partnering With Higher Education Institutions
Included in our new facility’s floor plan is a learning lab designated for higher-level learning and research. We are excited to begin working more closely with our local community colleges and universities to create a space for deeper science learning and knowledge creation. We plan to offer training and resources for local science teachers to support Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Teachers will be able to attend workshops that enable them to become trainers of their colleagues back at their local schools. This trainer-of-trainers program has been proven to be an effective strategy for improving student understanding of NGSS. Additionally, our new building will include a laboratory that can be used by community college and university students to carry out research. We plan to prioritize research that heavily affects the commerce and success of California’s Central Valley, including agricultural technologies and sciences. This will allow the museum to model and demonstrate how science discoveries directly impact local lives.