KRIS

Posted : Jul 23, 2010 9:38 PM
Updated: Jul 23, 2010 10:58 PM

ROCKPORT - "I think every place needs a place like this. And Rockport was just lucky enough to get it," said Rockport Mayor, C. J. Wax.

When walking into the New bay Education Center, one might assume it's like any other museum or place of learning. But first impressions can be misleading.

Georgia Neblett with Mission Aransas explained, "It's interactive. That's the way that we designed it, so that people can touch and feel the different things they might find in an estuary."

So, with no boundary ropes, or "Do Not Touch" signs, visitors are encouraged to feel and examine the several exhibits, without getting into any trouble.

Cindy Berman a first-time visitor to the Education Center said, "Well, I feel like you can get a better feel for what it is. We've always talked about barnacles or oysters and to actually see it, it's really neat."

Along with the hands on exhibits, the new Bay Education Center's prize possession is the $155,000 science sphere. Which gives visitors a brand new way to see the world they live in, up close and personal.

The sphere is one of only three in Texas, and only 50 in the entire world.

And when all four projectors are running, it offers viewers a three-dimensional look at other worlds, and even real-time images of our planet.

"Science on a Sphere is something that really makes a reality out of the impacts of our environment and the processes that contribute to that environment. I won't call it unique but it's real close to there," said Wax.

The facility is already working on new exhibits, which will also offer folks a hands-on learning experience, about our watery landscapes, and the skies overhead.

"Sometimes when you get to touch something and make it your own for a few minutes, then you really, really retain the importance of it," said Neblett.

The Bay Education Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1 PM to 4 PM, and is free of charge to all visitors.