The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved $170,000 for a new exhibit and learning opportunities at McWane Science Center.
“What you see behind me is our ‘Making Moves Experience,’” said Annie Strong, the museum’s creative director. “It’s going to be part of the ‘Dropping Science’ exhibit, which is an exhibit focused around STEM and hip-hop and the science behind all of that.”
Strong said Birmingham City Schools students will get to experience the exhibit for free.
“We have a program called ‘McWane for All’ that allows Title I schools to experience McWane, experience our exhibits and learn about STEM for free,” Strong said. “So Birmingham City Schools are included in that.”
Birmingham City Council President Darrell O’Quinn said it’s money well spent.
“it’s important for us to support them,” O’Quinn said. “They’re doing innovative types of projects there. The city of Birmingham is doing its part in terms of supporting the organizations that provide additional learning opportunities to our city school students.”
Ingrid Smiley has a 7-year-old granddaughter who is enrolled in Birmingham City Schools. Smiley said she’s excited about the investment from the city and thinks it will help students get excited about learning.
“That’d be great for a lot of kids,” Smiley said. “That’s a lot of kids may not be able to afford to even go, so that would be great.”
Theres no exact timeframe on when the new “Dropping Science” exhibit will open at McWane Science Center, but it should be before the end of the year.
