An Unbiased Look at Danville Science Center’s Exhibit on Climate Impact

The exhibition dives into the arctic regions of the globe, where permafrost – land that has been frozen for at least two years – is melting, creating problems for residents.

The science center is taking an objective approach to the hot topic, executive director Adam Goebel told the Danville Register & Bee during a Nov. 1 tour of the exhibit.

The traveling exhibit, officially titled “Under the Arctic: Diving into the Permafrost,” opened in September and will run until May.

Putting the exhibit together was a task in itself for the Danville Science Center’s meager staff.

“They come with a lot of management and my team puts them together,” he said of the five people who work there. “We get pulled in so many different directions, and we have a lot of 10-hour days.”

This is not only physical labor, but also problem solving, since not everything always goes according to instructions.

And this is in addition to dismantling the previous exhibition and preparing space for a new one.

Locally, the Kiwanis Club of Danville Foundation and the Charles J. Patterson Jr. Charitable Foundation are providing financial support for the show’s eight-month stop in the Dan River region.

“It takes you into a very interesting but fragile ecosystem known as the Arctic,” Goebel said, recounting the trials and tribulations of the people who live there.

Now “their critical thinking and problem solving” are being put to the test to develop new ways to survive.

Permafrost is common in areas of higher latitudes, such as the North and South Poles. It is made up of things like soil, rocks and sand, held together by ice.

“This is a good way to approach the issue objectively rather than subjectively,” Goebel explained.

The Science Center doesn’t take sides either, but the exhibit does try to explain what’s going on and how people are dealing with it to solve the problem.

“The highlight is the main replica of the only permafrost research tunnel in the Western Hemisphere, which is located in Alaska,” Goebel said, walking around the corner and peering into the space.

At that time, there were two students there who pressed a button that emanated the smell of methane, which, according to Goebel, resembled the smell of rotting plants.

When the earth warms, biodegradable material containing permafrost releases methane gas.

“Methane is essentially a gas that contributes to global warming,” the executive director explained. “So this process gets worse as the permafrost begins to melt.”

Another station goes into detail about the changes and how Alaska Natives adapted to this new way of life, which also impacts the culture.

Goebel said the Dan River region is somewhat immune from the effects of climate change, but he argues the same could be said for people in western North Carolina after the catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Helen.

“The struggle is real,” he said of the people who have to endure it.

According to him, the exhibition has been popular so far. It is intended for children aged 9 to 14 years, as well as adults.

“What we’re trying to do is find a middle ground where we can attract something for everyone,” he said. “So as our traveling exhibits change, they’re not always geared toward younger children, sometimes they’re geared toward older kids.”

The space was previously home to the Thomas the Tank Engine show, which was created especially for young children and featured a whimsical character brought to life in the TV series.

“We saw a lot of older people coming here specifically,” he said of the Arctic show.

The goal is to offer guests of the Danville Science Center something new and ever-changing.

“While many of our core exhibits are very open and can be visited multiple times, the traveling exhibit brings a new theme, a new concept and will hopefully attract a new audience,” he said.

In fact, one woman came from Smith Mountain Lake to see the current exhibit because she used to work in Alaska.

“Our idea and our approach is to try to create something new and relevant for everyone,” Goebel said.

“It literally takes you to the other side of the country to experience something you wouldn’t normally experience,” he said.

On average, passing through all stations takes about 45 minutes.

At this time, there comes a “light bulb” moment when guests can see and feel what they have only heard about until now.

This feeling is enhanced by dual heat lamps that show how the atmosphere acts like a blanket.

“You can really tell how much it helps retain heat,” Goebel said, placing his hands under a regular lamp and another encased in a clear cylinder to simulate the atmosphere.

A fossil was found in a research tunnel in Alaska near this station. Nearby, a child interacted with a microscope to get a closer look at the fossils.

Most of the children were there on school trips. Last fiscal year, the center hosted 10,210 students for 583 of those businesses.

“I think it speaks to the value of the experience,” he said. Teachers are coming to realize that there is more to learning than the formal book-and-lecture model of education, although Goebel says there is a place for that, too.

“But there is also a place for hands-on learning,” he said. “I think it’s powerful.”

Back at the station where students were assembling structures, Goebel said it was interactions like these that demonstrate the full experience.

“If your house starts to sink, what will you do?” – he said about the first station of the exhibition. If it’s agricultural land, it becomes even more of an economic problem.

Rin Marshall, a museum specialist, explained to the new group of students who had just entered what they were about to see.

“Once it starts to melt because of climate change and the Earth getting warmer, we’ll see it melt, but what happens to a house if it’s on frozen ground and it starts to melt?” – he asked the young people.

“The house is about to fall, it’s going to collapse,” he explained as eyes began to open and mouths widened with a wow expression.

“So I think there’s a lot of thinking, but also a lot of positive adaptability and unique solutions to problems and engineering challenges,” he explained as students wandered in the background.

Reading about it is one thing, but building a house and seeing it sink into the ground shows what he called influence and involvement.

“They learn about it in school, but they come here and learn about it,” he explained. “These are the kinds of experiences that these kids will remember.”

It will run until May 4 during the center’s normal opening hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday.

This is included in the price of the museum ticket.