Exploring How WaterWorks

Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences


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Utilizing Our Experience

Boss Display worked closely with the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences and Argyle Design to create a truly unique exhibit while meeting the goals and vision of the museum. Being experts in the field, Boss Display was approached to expand on the design and bring new ideas into being. We hosted a live demonstration of the gallery for Clay Center and Argyle staff, where they proposed changes that were tested in real time. Many of these suggestions were integrated into the final design. The attention to detail poured into this gallery means that when visitors first encounter WaterWorks, after crossing through its twelve foot entrance tunnel simulating an undersea cave, their curiosity and imaginations are already engaged.

 
 

Kids and parents get hands-on with the interactive tippy bucket.

Children develop social skills exploring the water table together or in parallel.

Visitors use problem solving and creativity to construct their own dams.

 
 
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Real World Excitement

WaterWorks, the enormous water exhibit inspired by the local Kanawha River, combines creativity and real-world science as it begins its flow from a simulated rain cloud cascading overhead. Visitors are encouraged to get hands-on once the water travels down through a wheel and enters a hydroelectric dam. The sophisticated electronic system engages visitors to control the water’s flow through the dam and use trial and error to explore its effect on the amount of power generated to light up a model town. Children operating the dam have fun using their imagination while witnessing the science behind local power generation.

 
 

Rain clouds and cascading pans teach the real world science behind the water cycle.

Changing the flow of water engages kids in fun and hands-on learning.

Sending balls to the overhead track encourages open-ended exploration of the different water tables.

 
 
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Building Unique Interactions

The boat lock and many movable islands provide hands-on opportunities for exploratory and constructive play in the water’s flow. Children use the pump and tipping bucket to simulate flooding and engage in social problem-solving with their constructed islands and dams. Visitors explore STEAM concepts when they divert the river’s flow through a water wheel which powers a conveyor belt lifting colored balls overhead. A set of tracks above carry the balls away as children follow them across the room to their final destination.

 
 

It’s a fun activity for the kids to learn about the characteristics and the properties of water.
— KAYTE KINCAID, Director of Education at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences

 
 
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Inclusive and Engaging

As balls fall from the tracks above, they land in a fun and interactive water vortex leading to the Phenomenon Tank below. Featuring inclusive play for all ages, the table has water mushrooms and sprinklers, as well as Bernoulli jets that levitate balls in midair. Four sections of build-a-pipe encourage cognitive development and scientific thinking as children construct together or in parallel. Kids have open-ended interactions with the many moving parts, prompting both social creativity and the real-world scientific method. Visitors have fun and build confidence as they explore the countless ways water can be harnessed and enjoyed within WaterWorks.

 
 

Kids enjoy playing with the ball track independently or collaborating with others.

The water mushrooms encourage hands-on fun for all ages.


Features:

  • Large entrance tunnel with lights and sounds that simulate an underwater environment

  • Rain cloud and cascading pans teach the science behind the water cycle

  • Visitors learn about hydroelectric power through the dam and several water wheels

  • Mobile islands and cargo ships promote hands-on real world thinking

  • Pumps and a tipping bucket engage visitors in a fun and social spectacle

  • Children interact with water-powered conveyor belt that lifts colorful balls

  • Interactive water vortex simulates the naturally occurring whirlpool phenomenon

  • Bernoulli jets are a fun way to learn a scientific principle

  • Water mushrooms and sprinklers engage visitors of all ages

 
 

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