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Rube Goldberg and more Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell "Gizmo guy" Jim Hand of Ashland works on a Rube Goldberg-type contraption that will be ready for the expected fall 2002 opening of the Science Center of Southern Oregon. Science Center set to open in fall of 2002 By DAMIAN MANN ASHLAND - Rube Goldberg turned ordinary objects into improbable-looking contraptions. Now a group of local and out-of-state supporters will be turning the former 26,000-square-foot site of the Pacific Northwest Museum of Natural History into an attraction for the tinkerer in every child. Self-appointed "gizmo guy" Jim Hand of Ashland has even created a prototype Rube Goldberg contraption that he will fine-tune for the fall 2002 opening of the Science Center of Southern Oregon. Hand, who was on hand Monday for the announcement of the center's plans, said his machine typifies the hands-on approach the center will offer. He hopes to offer Rube Goldberg competitions for children. "I'm thinking about a machine that is the size of a 5-foot-by-5-foot cube that sits on a table and washes and peels an apple." The museum, which was purchased for $1.5 million by the Kirlin Foundation of Seattle, is an outgrowth of a similar program at the Ashland Middle School Science Institute. Opened in July 1994, the Pacific Northwest Museum closed in September 1997. Hand said the theme of the science center will be simple: "The object is to have kids participate in the whole thing." Similar to the Exploritorium in San Francisco or the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, the science center would be available to schools throughout Southern Oregon. "I want to stress this is not just an Ashland museum," said founder Sharon Javna. The center's four-member board and 25-member advisory group plan to raise $300,000 to $400,000 to open and run it for the first year, and hope to attract children and adults throughout Southern Oregon. The 19-year lease will cost 39 cents a square foot, but the museum plans to sublease about 8,000 square feet. Javna says it shouldn't be difficult to raise the initial amount to open the facility. "That does not seem to me terribly daunting. It seems doable." To raise most of the initial startup costs, Javna said, supporters will conduct internal fundraising with the board as well as public fundraising through advance memberships. Before the science center opens next fall, the Kirlin Foundation will allow it to occupy the space for free and could also contribute to some of the start-up costs. Kirlin executive director Ron Rabin said, "If Southern Oregon steps up to support this venture, Kirlin is committed to seeking major funding for the science center." Javna said the Kirlin Foundation family has strong ties and an interest in the Southern Oregon area. Javna wants the center to start small and continue building on its success. Admission prices have not been set, but Javna said they would be affordable. Initially, the center will be open only on Saturdays and will rely mostly on volunteers to run the facility. Unlike other science museums, Javna said, this one will constantly change its exhibits . "One Saturday we might have paper airplanes, the next time kitchen chemistry, the next time giant bubbles and the next time, maybe, rockets," she said. Javna didn't seem too concerned that another group has planned to build a children's museum in Medford. "I'm delighted other people are interested in programs for family and children," she said. But Javna added, "Children's museums and science centers are very similar, and in many cases it is hard to tell the difference." Shelley Austin, marketing director for the science center, said the local interest in these types of museums attests to their popularity nationwide. For more information try the science center's Web site: www.scicenterso.org. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.