Editing Liberty Science Center

{{Short description|Museum in Jersey City, New Jersey}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox museum
| name            = Liberty Science Center
| logo            = File:Liberty science center logo.png
| logo_upright    = 
| logo_alt        = The logo of the Liberty Science Center
| logo_caption    = Logo of the Liberty Science Center
| image           = Liberty Science Center Jersey City October 2020 panorama 1.jpg
| image_upright   = 1.2
| alt             = 
| caption         = Exterior of Liberty Science Center
| map_type        = USA New Jersey Hudson County
| map_relief      = 
| map_size        = 
| map_caption     = <small>Location of Liberty Science Center in New Jersey</small>
| coordinates     = {{coord|40.708312|-74.054246|display=inline}}
| established     = January 24, 1993
| location        = [[Liberty State Park]], [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]], [[New Jersey]],  [[United States|US]]
| type            = [[Science museum]]
| visitors        = 750,000 per year<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lsc.org/about-us|title=About Liberty Science Center}}</ref>
| leader_type     = President & CEO
| leader          = [[Paul Hoffman (science writer)|Paul Hoffman]]
| chairperson     = David Barry/John Weston
| publictransit   = '''[[Hudson–Bergen Light Rail]]''' at [[Liberty State Park station|Liberty State Park]]:
*{{Color box|#fd0|border=darkgray}}&nbsp;'''West Side&ndash;Tonnelle'''
*{{Color box|#009EDA|border=darkgray}}&nbsp;'''8th Street&ndash;Hoboken'''
*{{Color box|#009EDA|border=darkgray}}&nbsp;'''Bayonne Flyer''' 
| parking         = On-site (daily charge)
| website         = {{URL|https://lsc.org/}}
}}

[[File:Hoberman_Sphere_at_Liberty_Science_Center,_2015.jpg|thumb|250px|Hoberman sphere at Liberty Science Center]]
'''Liberty Science Center''' is an [[interactive]] [[science museum]] and learning center located in [[Liberty State Park]] in [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]], [[New Jersey]], United States. At its opening, it was the largest such planetarium in the Western Hemisphere and the world's fourth largest.<ref name=NewYorkTimes>{{cite web|first=James|last=Barron|author-link=James Barron (journalist)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/nyregion/planetarium-opens-in-new-jersey-ushering-in-a-new-kind-of-star-wars.html|title=Planetarium Opens in New Jersey, Ushering in a New Kind of Star Wars|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|language=en|date=December 6, 2017|access-date= December 6, 2017|archive-date=December 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206222439/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/nyregion/planetarium-opens-in-new-jersey-ushering-in-a-new-kind-of-star-wars.html|quote=That may or may not explain the debut of the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth largest in the world. It opens this week in Jersey City. The top scientist responsible for it, Paul Hoffman, the president and chief executive officer of the Liberty Science Center, boasted that it was so large that the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, the starry destination for generations of middle-school field trippers, would fit inside with room to spare.}}</ref>

The center, which opened in 1993 as New Jersey's first major state science museum, has science exhibits, numerous educational resources, and the original ''[[Hoberman sphere]]'', a silver, computer-driven engineering artwork designed by [[Chuck Hoberman]].

==History==
{{Expand section|date=June 2018}}
Liberty Science Center completed a 22-month, $109 million expansion and renewal project on July 19, 2007.<ref name="MacPherson">Kitta MacPherson. "Innovation & Inspiration", ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', October 4, 2006.</ref>  The expansion added {{convert|100000|sqft|m2}} to the facility, bringing it to nearly {{convert|300000|sqft|m2}}.<ref>[https://www.skanskausa.com/templates/Page.asp?id=3881 Liberty Science Center Expansion Project] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017212556/https://www.skanskausa.com/templates/Page.asp?id=3881 |date=October 17, 2006 }}, accessed January 30, 2007</ref>

In December 2017, the Science Center opened the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, a 400-seat facility with a dome {{convert|100|ft}} in diameter and an {{convert|89|ft|adj=on}} diameter screen, named for the benefactor who contributed $5 million towards the cost of construction. Larger than [[New York City]]'s [[Rose Center for Earth and Space#Hayden Planetarium|Hayden Planetarium]], at its opening, it was the largest such planetarium in the Western Hemisphere and the world's fourth largest.<ref name=NewYorkTimes/>

==Exhibits==
[[File:Climbing course at Liberty Science Center.jpg|thumb|250px|The Infinity Climber climbing course]]
Liberty Science Center's permanent exhibitions include:
* '''Skyscraper! Achievement and Impact''' – Believed to be the most comprehensive exhibit on the topic of [[skyscrapers]], which includes large models of some of the world's tallest buildings and explanations of various aspects of their construction, such as the physics of elevator operation, and test chamber that vets the strength of materials used to the buildings.
* '''Eat and Be Eaten'''<ref>{{cite web | url = https://lsc.org/explore/exhibitions/eat-and-be-eaten | title = LSC: Eat and be eaten | accessdate= September 8, 2018}}</ref> – This exhibit of unusual live animals explores the [[predator]]-[[prey]] relationship, including  [[Viperidae|vipers]], [[puffer fish]],  [[cotton-top tamarins]], brilliantly colored [[poison dart frogs]], [[eusocial]] [[naked mole-rats]]<ref>{{cite web | date= August 30, 2018 | url=https://lsc.org/news-and-social/news/naked-mole-rat-poop-may-have-brainwashing-abilities | title=Naked mole rat queens may control their subordinates via poop}}</ref> and fungus culturing, [[leaf cutter ants]].<ref>{{cite web  | title= Ants march into Liberty Science Center | date= September 6, 2015 | url=https://lsc.org/news-and-social/news/ants-march-into-liberty-science-center}}</ref>
[[File:Beyond Rubik's Cube VIP opening at Liberty Science Center podium photo.JPG|thumb|275px|Liberty Science Center CEO, Paul Hoffman, speedcuber Anthony Brooks, Budapest inventor [[Ernő Rubik|Erno Rubik]], NJ Lt. Gov. [[Kim Guadagno]], US Senator [[Bob Menendez|Robert Menendez]], and Hungarian President [[János Áder|Janos Ader]] at the opening of the Beyond Rubik's Cube museum exhibition, April 25, 2014]]
* '''Communication''' is a 7,000-square-foot exhibit that explores human communication, which can be experienced by the visitor via mobile devices, multimedia, and touch, through speech, writing and symbols. The exhibit also explains how technology plays a role in modern forms of communication.<ref name=MacPherson/>
* '''[[Traveling exhibition]]s''' – Various temporary exhibits
** "Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lsc.org/lsc/ourexperiences/mammoths|title=Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age|website=LSC.org|access-date=October 15, 2017|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110030636/https://www.lsc.org/lsc/ourexperiences/mammoths|archivedate=January 10, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> used video installations, hands-on interactive displays, life-sized models, and fossils to teach more about extinct mammals. The exhibit showcased [[Lyuba (mammoth)|Lyuba]], the world's best-preserved woolly mammoth specimen.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/21/2009-04-21_baby_mammoth_lyuba_pristinely_preserved_offers_scientists_rare_look_into_mysteri.html | location=New York | work=Daily News | title=Baby mammoth Lyuba, pristinely preserved, offers scientists rare look into mysteries of Ice Age | first=Olivia | last=Smith | date=April 21, 2009}}</ref>
** Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition featured over 100 authentic artifacts from the ''[[RMS Titanic|Titanic]]'', which were set within replicas of cabins and other areas of the ship. The exhibit also allowed visitors to touch an "iceberg" to simulate how cold the water was when the ship sank.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lsc.org/see-whats-happening/current-exhibitions-and-experiences/titanic-the-artifact-exhibition/|title=Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition|publisher=Liberty Science Center|df=mdy-all|language=en-US|url-status=dead|archivedate=September 12, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912020315/https://lsc.org/see-whats-happening/current-exhibitions-and-experiences/titanic-the-artifact-exhibition/}}</ref>
** Rubik's Cube exhibition - Beyond Rubik's Cube opened to the public on April 26, 2014, and has toured other museums around the world. The exhibition celebrates the [[Rubik's Cube|Cube]]'s 40th anniversary and features artifacts and exhibits that trace the history of the Cube and mark the massive cultural influence it continues to have on popular culture today.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://brc.lsc.org/ |title=Beyond Rubik's Cube |publisher=Liberty Science Center |access-date=May 16, 2014 }}</ref>

==Jennifer Chalsty Center for Science Learning and Teaching==
In July 2007,  the Jennifer Chalsty Center for Science Learning and Teaching opened.  It is a {{convert|20000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} facility extending over the entire former ''Invention Floor'' of Liberty Science Center, with six laboratories, a 150-seat theater, and other resources for teachers and students. Educators can upgrade science teaching skills and find peers to help strengthen science instruction in the classroom, while students can participate in intense, multi-day or single-hour programs to ignite interest and skills in science exploration.<ref>Osowski, Jeffrey. "Enliven the art of teaching science", [[New Jersey Education Association]] ''Review'', February 2006.</ref>

==Genius Award and Gallery==
The LSC hosts an annual Gala and Genius Award as well as Genius Gallery, a permanent, interactive display.<ref name=GeniusGallery>{{cite web | url=https://lsc.org/support-us/genius-gala-draft/genius-gallery | title= Liberty Science Center Genius Gallery | accessdate= September 8, 2018}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=March 2022}} The full list of awardees:
2011: [[Jane Goodall]]; 
2012: [[Temple Grandin]], [[Ernő Rubik]], [[Oliver Sacks]]; 
2013: Sir [[Richard Branson]], [[Garry Kasparov]], [[Cori Bargmann]]; 
2014: [[Dean Kamen]], [[Sylvia A. Earle]], [[J. Craig Venter]]; 
2015: [[Jeff Bezos]], [[Vint Cerf]], [[Jill Tarter]]; 
2016: [[Frank Gehry]], [[Jack Horner (paleontologist)|Jack Horner]], [[Ellen Langer]], [[Kip Thorne]]; 
2017: [[Katherine Johnson]], [[Ray Kurzweil]], [[Marc Raibert]] (and SpotMini); 
2018: [[Vitalik Buterin]], [[George M. Church]], [[Laurie Santos]], [[Sara Seager]];
2019: [[Chris Messina (open-source advocate)|Chris Messina]], [[Sally Shaywitz]] and Bennett Shaywitz, [[Martine Rothblatt]], [[Karlie Kloss]];
2020: [[Moshe Safdie]], [[Jennifer A. Lewis]], [[William Conan Davis]].<ref name=GeniusGallery/>{{Primary source inline|date=March 2022}}

==Sci Tech Scity proposal==
In 2019 LSC was in negotiation with Jersey City to receive for a nominal fee city-owned land (a former car pound) which would be developed as an educational and residential area called Sci Tech Scity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/03/critics_assail_jersey_city_plan_to_give_land_to_li.html|title=Critics assail Jersey City plan to give land to Liberty Science Center|author=|date=March 2017|website=NJ.com|access-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/03/jersey_city_teachers_union_seeks_delay_on_liberty.html|title=Teachers union seeks delay on Liberty Science Center plan|author=|date=March 2017|website=NJ.com|access-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/03/council_debates_276m_liberty_science_center_expans.html|title=Heated debate over $276M Liberty Science Center expansion plan|author=|date=March 2017|website=NJ.com|access-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref> Phase one of the project is scheduled to open in late 2023 and into early 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Liberty Science Center Breaks Ground On $300 Million SciTech Scity Expansion |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/liberty-science-center-scitech-scity-expansion/?adlt=strict&toWww=1&redig=9968DFB9F43846E38A2365E01B581D6B |website=cbsnews.com| date=October 22, 2021 }}</ref>

==References==
{{portal|New Jersey}}
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/design/20libe.html |publisher= NY Times |date= July 20, 2007 |title= Museum Review: Touch Me Feel Me Science |first= Edward |last= Rothstein}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Liberty Science Center}}
* {{official website}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Museums established in 1993]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Jersey City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Natural history museums in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Science museums in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Museums in Hudson County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Jersey City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Association of Science-Technology Centers member institutions]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Planetaria in the United States]]