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Exhibits for Springfield Discovery Center
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project will support the construction and placement of an interactive water quality exhibit in the Springfield Discovery Center located at 438 St. Louis Street, Springfield, Missouri. The exhibit will incorporate activities related to the hydrologic cycle and perhaps follow the journey of a water-drop through the cycle - beginning as a raindrop, entering a river and travelling downstream. Along its journey, the water drop will encounter several nonpoint source intruders, such as runoff from farm animals and chemicals or fertilizers from urban areas. The waterdrop will interact with stream life and then go into a drinking water intake. It will travel through the drinking water system, be used or ingested, enter sewage treatment and complete the process by being discharged back into the river. Audio inputs and mechanical motion may be included to contribute to the learning experience.
A Karst/Watershed module will be constructed to illustrate basic watershed principals. The module will be placed within the theater exhibit proper. The user will pump water from a reservoir up to "clouds" simulating the energy of the sun. The "clouds" will rain onto the watershed model creating infiltration and runoff. The amount of runoff will relate to the land cover and type of land-use activity, for example, when more runoff occurs from an urban area from impervious surfaces. This will teach basic infiltration/runoff principles related to land use. There will be information relating to the effects of human's land-use activities on runoff, groundwater and nonpoint source pollution. There will also be simulation of karst drainage in this model. Part of the runoff water will enter sinkholes and losing streams and illustrate their relationship to springs. Users will be able to observe these processes through a cut-away view of the subsurface. One side of the module will depict a "cave" with a dripping discharge from the surface. Cave creatures will be recreated and users will participate in learning via interactive features. There will be information relating to karst and its vulnerability to groundwater contamination.
PRODUCTS AND OBJECTIVES
Underground ecosystems will be portrayed as an important consideration to the ecosystem. A biodiversity and water resources element will be included in the theater proper to address the biological health and diversity of water resources. The user will be able to view fish and invertebrates from a "clean" vs. an "impacted" stream environment. There will be an emphasis on how everyday activities that people engage in, such as fertilizing lawns and changing their car's oil, can impact water resources.
Its visitors will incorporate evaluation of exhibit successes into the overall evaluation of the Discovery Center. A brief survey will be used to interview randomly selected users to determine the effectiveness of the exhibit in conveying nonpoint source concepts. The survey will be conducted randomly during three days each quarter for the first year of exhibit operation by staff of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, city of Springfield and DNR's Southwest Regional Office. Survey results will be compiled.
Project period: January 1, 2000--December 31, 2004
PROJECT SPONSOR
Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
COOPERATING AGENCY
City of Springfield
Silver Dollar City
Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
CONTACT
Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
320 North Main
Springfield, MO 65806
Loring Bullard, Director
telephone: 417-866-1127
email: loring@watershedcommittee.org
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