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Home / Exhibits / Permanent Exhibits / Discovery Place
The Fondren Discovery Place
The Fondren Discovery Place makes discovering science fun for kids and families. Every exhibit is made for touching, pushing, turning, twisting, spinning or shaking. Every action has a fun reaction as kids investigate science in action.
Kids can discover how light waves work by mixing light, making colored shadows and moving lasers. Families can experiment with standing sound waves and whisper across the room in giant dishes. Panpipes, disappearing rods, and a walk-in kaleidoscope provide more wave action. A suspension bridge, a wave column, and two wild pendulums complete the wave adventure.
With machines like levers, pulleys, and gears, kids can lift more and turn faster. They can store energy in a spinning wheel and use their muscles to make electricity – lighting a bulb or a glowing neon tube. They can also see how simple machines combine to make a Corliss steam engine.
The original Corliss Steam Engine was the largest steam engine ever built. Constructed by George Corliss and exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, it was 70 feet tall and weighed more than 650 tons. The Museum’s working replica shows all the parts of the engine in action: piston, crankshaft, and flywheel.
As families enter Discovery Place, they can stop by our simulated weather studio. Here Dr. Neil Frank from KHOU-TV, Channel 11 gives kids of all ages a chance to broadcast stormy weather and see themselves on a television screen. Then they can experiment with wind power in a floating ball or weather patterns in a spinning disk.
Fondren Discovery Place is the place where science becomes easy, exciting and lots of fun.
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