When the city’s science museum closes, a new home opens in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
— When the Jacksonville Science Museum closes its doors this fall, it’s going to be replaced by a new museum, and it’s also going to have a new name.
“The new museum will be named the Science Museum of Jacksonville,” said Science Museum president and CEO Steve Waddell.
Waddells goal is to build the world’s largest collection of science, technology and engineering artifacts in one location.
That includes everything from the Wright Brothers’ first plane to the first nuclear bomb.
But it’s not just the artifacts that are being changed.
“We’re going to move from our building here in the museum, which is a beautiful building, to a new building, a more modern building,” Waddels said.
The Science Museum is not just an artifact collection.
It is a collection of artifacts from a different era.
That’s where the name change comes in.
“When we opened our doors in 1929, it was a beautiful, historic building.
It was beautiful, and then we had the first atomic bomb, and we were still a young nation,” Wadsell said.
“And I think that changed how we view the world.
And the fact that we’re still living with that is very sad.”
And now, a museum that’s about 50 years old is going to turn 40 years old in December.
“That’s a milestone,” Wadels said, noting that the museum is also the oldest museum in the United States.
It also has been a destination for scientists and educators.
It has served as the hub of the National Science Foundation’s Center for Science and Technology in Jacksonville for the past 30 years.
Now it will move into the new, modern building, with a new focus on showcasing Florida’s largest and most important collections of scientific and technological artifacts, including: “The Wright Brothers aircraft,” said Wadsel.
“It was the first airplane that flew in the world.”
And it’s still the biggest collection of Wright Brothers planes in the country.
That collection includes the famous Wright brothers’ Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where they flew their planes in World War II.
Wadsels family also includes two daughters and two grandchildren, all of whom attended the museum as children.
“These kids are still coming here,” Wadiels said of his staff.
The museum’s collection will include some of the most remarkable things ever made, from the original Wright Brothers plane to a bomb.
Wadell said that the first museum to have the Wright brothers as an important part of its collection was the Smithsonian Institution.
“They had this airplane that they brought to the Smithsonian and we just couldn’t let it go,” Wadaels said with a laugh.
But that collection will not be part of the new museum.
The new Science Museum will include exhibits and programs on science, engineering and technology, and will also include a collection that is bigger than anything the museum has ever had.
Wadiel said he was trying to make a bold statement to the world: “If you are looking for something that’s going into the future, the new Science is the place to look.”
And the new collection is a big part of that, too.
“For us, we’re trying to look at how to preserve the original artifacts that were brought here by Wright Brothers, so we can do that with the newer materials,” Wadyes said.
And he also said the new exhibit will have exhibits about the evolution of the atomic bomb.
“As you know, the first bomb was made by the United Nations,” Wadhels said in an interview.
“This was before the atomic bombs were discovered.”
The Science museum will also be bringing in more than 300 exhibits to showcase its collection.
Some of the exhibits will be new to the museum.
“One of our big new exhibits is on the Wright family and its legacy,” Wade said.
That exhibit, which will be in the new building and open in December, will be called “The Journey of the Wright Brother.”
Wadsells mission is to bring all of that knowledge to the public and to build a better understanding of the world and to make sure that people have access to the most important and most fascinating artifacts of our time.
