'Wild Weather' Now Open at Science Museum Oklahoma
May 21, 2019
"Wild Weather" is included with general admission.
The science of thunderstorms to summer heat waves and hurricanes to blizzards has blown into Science Museum Oklahoma as part of “Wild Weather,” a temporary exhibition available only at SMO through Labor Day.
Included with general admission and museum membership, the immersive, experiential exhibition gives guests the chance to explore the powerful and unpredictable forces of severe weather, its connection to climate change along with emerging technologies, forecasting techniques and much more.
“As Oklahomans, we know the huge impact weather has on our lives. The ‘Wild Weather’ exhibition provides an interactive exploration of the science behind some of the earth’s most catastrophic yet captivating forces,” said Sherry Marshall, president and CEO of SMO.
“Hands-on, augmented reality technology shows the destructive power of tornadoes of different intensities, powerful images capture the devastation of hurricanes like Katrina, Ike and Sandy, and there are even ways for families to continue their experience at home with citizen science through things like studying hail in your own backyard.”
The exhibit features eight distinct zones covering severe weather phenomena of all kinds and from all over the world. Guests can even hear the stories of people who are working to better understand and mitigate severe weather impacts, like Erik Rasmussen, a research scientist with the University of Oklahoma Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies working with the NOAA National Severe Storms Lab.
Rasmussen, a meteorologist leading the NSSL’s VORTEX Southeast (Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment) project, offers a look into how he first became interested in weather, the importance of his VORTEX-SE research and the experience of chasing storms.
“‘Wild Weather’ is educational, eye-opening and fun all at once. Whether you’re in the cockpit flying through the eye of a hurricane, dancing up a snowstorm, trying to control a miniature tornado or learning the science of forecasting, there’s something for everyone to discover,” Marshall added.
Located at 2020 Remington Place in Oklahoma City, Science Museum Oklahoma is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The museum is open with regular hours on Memorial Day, May 27. Daily general admission is $15.95 for adults (ages 13 to 64) and $12.95 for children (ages 3 to 12) and seniors (65 and older). Annual memberships begin at $105.
“Wild Weather” was developed and produced by Science North in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre. For more information about “Wild Weather,” visit www.sciencemuseumok.org/wild-weather.
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