Science Can Be Fun at the Imagination Station in Toledo, Ohio

Have you ever wished you could defy gravity? Have you ever dreamed of being a human Yo-Yo? Would you like to be a television sportscaster? Maybe you might like to be inside a hurricane and be perfectly safe at the same time. If you're looking for something a little different to do on your vacation, you can do all these things and more at the Imagination Station at Toledo, Ohio. The Imagination Station may provide a way of learning about science that no other place does.

The Imagination Station in Toledo is open from Tuesday-Saturday from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm and Sunday from 12-5pm. ( It is closed on Mondays, except in April. It is also closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Years Day). The Imagination Station is open every day in April. Admission is $9 for those from 13-64, $7 for those 3-12, and $8 for those 65 and older.

The LIVE Report! provides a way for those who dream of being a sportscaster to see their dreams come true-at least for one day. Anyone can read the teleprompter and look into the camera and then get to see themselves on a delay screen. It may seem to a participant as if he is at an actual sporting event.

Would you like a different kind of a ride? Enter the Simulator Theater. Grab your seat with your hands, because it moves! In fact, you will hover 20 feet off the ground. It will seem as though you are being sucked into a giant screen, in what may seem like the ride of your life.

After that, you can be a human Yo-Yo at BOYO. You will find yourself bouncing 13 feet into the air. Once your insides have calmed down, you might even have the chance to learn something new about science.

On the high wire cycle you will have the chance to defy gravity. You just need to trust the two inch wire that straps you in. You will be riding along 20 feet above the ground, with no net and no mat below. There will be a hard floor beneath you, however.

In the Energy Factory you will find dozens of hands on exhibits that will teach you about oil refining and solar energy. You will be able to manipulate the photovoltaic wall, play games using sunlight, or even learn to program a robotic arm.

You may think your eyes are playing tricks on you in the Mind Zone. One of the favorite exhibits is the Gravity Room. At first you will think everything, including the door, the walls, and the windows, are normal. Actually, the floor is tilted at a 45 degree angle. You will also enjoy the sound exhibits, including the Intelligent Guitar.

In the Hurricane Chamber, you will actually be in the middle of mayhem. When you step inside, you will face Category 1 hurricane winds of 95-miles-per-hour. If you ask, you may even be given permission to face Category 5 winds of 156-miles per hour!

In the Science Studio you can learn about physics, chemistry, and biology. You also can be pinned between beds of nails.

In the Big Dig you can make your own dinosaurs. You can also find fossils you can keep.

During the year the museum will offer workshops for families concerning making a car, the science of catapults, and more.

You will find plenty to do if you visit the Imagination Station in Toledo, Ohio.

Citations:

Imagine That! Science is Fun, by Frank R. Satullo, ohiotraveler.com

Attractions, no author listed, imaginationstationtoledo.org