Don Harrington Discovery Center facts for kids
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| Established | 1976 |
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| Location | Amarillo, Texas |
| Type | Science museum |
| Visitors | 425/day |
The Don Harrington Discovery Center is a fun science museum and planetarium in Amarillo, Texas, USA. It's a place where you can learn about science through hands-on activities. The center is named after Don Harrington, who was a generous person who helped others.
Right outside the Discovery Center, you'll see a tall monument called the Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument. Inside, the planetarium was updated in 2003. It now uses cool video projection technology called Digistar 3 to show amazing space shows.
The Discovery Center is a nonprofit organization. This means it's not trying to make money for owners. Most of its money comes from people paying to get in, buying memberships, and attending special events. It also gets help from groups like the Amarillo Area Foundation. The community's support is very important for the center to keep going.
The Discovery Center is part of special programs like the Association of Children's Museums Reciprocal Program. If you have a membership, you might get free or cheaper entry to other museums across America.
Contents
Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument: A Time Capsule Landmark
The Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument is a unique landmark. It was designed in 1967 and built in 1968. This monument celebrates 100 years since helium was discovered.
What is the Helium Monument?
The monument is a six-story tall structure made of shiny stainless steel. It holds four special time capsules. Three of these capsules form the legs of the monument, and one stands upright. These capsules are like buried treasures meant to be opened in the future.
When Were the Time Capsules Opened?
The capsules were planned to be opened after 25, 50, 100, and 1,000 years from 1968.
- In 1982, the monument was moved by helicopter to its current spot at the Discovery Center.
- The first time capsule was opened right on schedule in 1993. This was part of a two-day party for the monument's 25th birthday. The items from this capsule are now part of the Discovery Center's collection.
- On September 29, 2018, the second time capsule was opened. This event celebrated the Amarillo Helium Plant and the 150th anniversary of helium's discovery. Inside, there were stamps, documents, toy cars, and other interesting items. You can now see these items on display at the Discovery Center.
New Items for the Future
After the second capsule was opened in 2018, the Discovery Center asked for ideas for new items. These new items were placed into the now-empty capsule in November 2018. This capsule will be opened again in 2093, 75 years later. The capsules set for 100 and 1,000 years are still waiting to be opened in 2068 and 2968.
One interesting item in the 1,000-year time capsule is a passbook for a bank account. It had a $10 deposit made in 1968.
The Monument as a Sundial
The monument also works like a giant sun dial. Its parts are lined up with the Sun to help tell the time of day.
See also
- List of children's museums in the United States
- List of time capsules
- Timeline of Installs and Open dates
