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 super fun place in Amarillo, Texas, where you can explore science! It's an interactive science center and planetarium designed to make learning exciting. This special center is located in Amarillo's hospital district. It is named after Don Harrington, a kind person who supported many good causes.
Right in front of the Discovery Center, you'll find a really cool monument called the Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument. The planetarium inside the center got a big upgrade in 2003. It now uses amazing fulldome video technology called Digistar 3. This makes you feel like you're really flying through space!
The Discovery Center gets most of its money from people visiting, buying memberships, and attending special events. They also get support from local groups and charities. The Don Harrington Discovery Center is a nonprofit organization. This means it relies a lot on help from the community to keep its doors open.
The Discovery Center is part of two special programs: the Association of Children's Museums Reciprocal Program and the Association of Science-Technology Centers Passport Program. If you have a membership, these programs might let you visit other museums across America for free or at a lower price.
Contents
Discover the Helium Time Columns Monument
The Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument is a very unique structure. It was designed in 1967 and built in 1968. This monument celebrates 100 years since helium was first discovered. It's a huge stainless steel structure, about six stories tall!
What's Inside the Monument?
The monument holds four special time capsules. Three of these capsules form the legs of the monument. The fourth one stands straight up. These capsules are like treasure chests from the past. They are meant to be opened at different times in the future. The opening dates are 25, 50, 100, and 1,000 years after it was built in 1968.
In 1982, the monument was moved by a helicopter to its current spot at the Don Harrington Discovery Center. Imagine seeing that!
Opening the Time Capsules
The first time capsule was opened right on schedule in 1993. This was part of a big celebration for the monument's 25th birthday. The items from that capsule are now part of the Discovery Center's collection. However, they are not usually shown to the public.
On September 29, 2018, the second time capsule was opened. This event celebrated the Amarillo Helium Plant and the 150th anniversary of the discovery of helium. Inside this capsule were cool items like old stamps, documents, and toy cars. These items are now on display at the Discovery Center for everyone to see!
After opening the second capsule, the Discovery Center asked for ideas for new items to put inside. Over 300 new items were collected and sealed into the capsule in November 2018. This capsule will be opened again in 2093, 75 years from now. The capsules set for 100 and 1,000 years are still waiting to be opened in 2068 and 2968.
One interesting item stored in the 1,000-year time capsule is a passbook to a bank account. It had a $10 deposit made in 1968. Imagine how much that might be worth in the year 2968!
The Monument as a Sundial
The monument also works as a giant sun dial. Its parts are lined up with the Sun. This allows it to tell the time using shadows.
See also
- List of children's museums in the United States
- List of time capsules
- Timeline of Installs and Open dates
