Science On The Go

Learning that the Science Station in Cedar Rapids is reaching out to the public is great news. With a cool looking bulbous van decorated with bright, fancy decals, it will be able to haul up to 15 experiments and exhibits around to schools, public gatherings and youth group meetings.

Since the Science Station reaches out to children in at least a 60-mile radius, that's a lot of young kids whocould be inspired to become scientists or mathematicians simply because they saw something here that piqued their interest.

As I said in today's Ramblin' column in The Gazette, this van reminds me of the days when the Cedar Rapids Public Library ran bookmobiles around town. With the Science Station in temporary quarters at Lindale Mall, the van makes perfect sense.

"That's why I decided I needed something like this instead of a 15-passenger van," says John Swanson, director of the Science Station. "I need to haul equipment, not people."

Some day the Science Station will have a permanent home and will want schools to plan field trips for visits. That's unlikely to be downtown in the old fire station where it's been since 1986 and not because it was flooded out, but because it doesn't have the room the Science Station hopes it will need in the future.

Plans are to have a facility that can provide outdoor activities -- building rockets and kites, for instance -- as well as the indoor ones we've come to know and love the last couple of decades. In that light, it's fantastic to see that the Science Station is moving foward.