A small museum is poised to make a big contribution to downtown Tucson's emerging redevelopment.
"Science Downtown", on Congress Street just west of the Rialto Theater, hopes to attract residents and visitors to participate in educational activities tied to the real science of the University of Arizona.
UA graduate students Meghan Cassidy and Rob Zellem, from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, are interim co-directors of Science Dowtown.
Cassidy and Zellem say the time is right for the museum because the modern streetcar that is under construction and other projects should bring more people to the city's core.
"Science Downtown is a small museum located in the heart of Tucson right next to the Rialto, so it's a prime location," Cassidy says. "And it features the College of Science here, it features all the research that's been going on here, and it's kind of a portal for science to the rest of the Tucson community."
Science Downtown is at 300 East Congress and for now is open only for special events.
One such event will be on Saturday, a "Family Day" from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with science demonstrations, museum tours and other activities.
"With the street car construction and all this recent revitalization in downtown, we think that Science Downtown can actually be a really nice foothold inside downtown and sort of develop an awesome downtown that Tucson could have," Zellem says.
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