BY LANI GOINS

Special to The Press

The Da Vinci Science Center is thriving in its new home in downtown Allentown.

“We have had to hire a lot of new staff, about 40 full time,” Director of Marketing and Sales Tamara Krizeck said. “The new 75,000-square-foot facility has three times the exhibition space of the old facility.

“We had a shift from attendance at the old facility, where attendance was mostly elementary school age.

“We had outgrown that facility, and we worked with the City of Allentown and found the Downtown Allentown Business Alliance (downtownallentown.com) to be a tremendous audience.

“We are seeing all ages at the new facility.

“There has been a surge in the middle and high school age group.

“We are also seeing more visitors from outside the Lehigh Valley.”

A partnership with the Allentown School District has two parts: Dedicated classroom space inside the Da Vinci Center allows science classes for the ASD to meet in the spaces.

Secondary schools use the space on a rotating basis, while students from Central Elementary, the local school, walk to the Da Vinci Center regularly for their science instruction.

The second part is free family memberships to the Da Vinci Center for all families who have a student registered in the ASD.

Families must activate the membership, by stopping at the Welcome Center in the Da Vinci Center.

Questions about membership can be emailed to ASDmember@davincicenter.org.

There is also a program called Access for All, providing discounts on visits and memberships to SNAP, TANF, WIC, EBT, and Access cardholders.

Some of the upcoming events include:

·Members Night on Feb. 28.

·Sharks exhibit will be at the Da Vinci Center through March 2.

·This summer, Mission Astronaut, with visitors being able to experience a day in the life of an astronaut.

·This fall, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Exhibition.

The Da Vinci Center also hosts the Little Learners Lab, with drop-in hours for adults with preschool age children.

Check the Da Vinci Center website, davincisciencecenter.org for all programming information and upcoming events.