Courtesy photo

CONCORD – On Friday, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center will open exhibits from the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather” – Mount Washington – to the public. In a new partnership, the Mount Washington Observatory and McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center have combined forces to bring weather and climate science education to Concord, New Hampshire, by relocating, refreshing – and in one case, entirely rebuilding – exhibits from the recently closed Weather Discovery Center in North Conway, NH for display in the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord. Exhibits include everything from the Tornado Tube, which creates a “mini-tornado” right in the Discovery Center’s Planetary Sciences Gallery, to an exhibit on solar power, to the “Shaky Shack”, a replica of the 1930s-era weather station rebuilt by staff and volunteers headed up by Volunteer Paul Higgins of Bedford, NH. In the original weather station, in April 1934 three hardy weather observers, nine cats and two guests on the top of the mountain recorded a record-breaking wind speed of 231 miles per hour; the record remains the highest wind speed ever recorded by human observers.

The Discovery Center has instituted a series of measures to keep visitors, volunteers and staff healthy and safe. Reservations are required for visits, with numbers of visitors limited for allowance of social distancing. The following timeslots are available for reservations: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. or from 1:30 to 4 p.m., with a special option for at-risk and senior visitors on Friday mornings from 9 – 10:30 a.m.; the Discovery Center closes for cleaning from 1 – 1:30 p.m. Masks are required, a health check of all staff and volunteers is performed upon arrival, and cleaning stations can be found throughout the Center. Entry to the planetarium and exhibit spaces are reconfigured to allow for social distancing.

The planetarium’s audio-visual systems have been significantly upgraded by SSIA Technologies, the new NH start-up that has partnered with SkySkan Europe to design, service and upgrade planetariums in the U.S. and other global locations, and that is now housed within the Discovery Center. Visitors have access to an expanded number of showtimes (11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.), with a choice of three different shows, for their immersive trips to distant stars and planets. With an upgrade to its website, starhop.com, visitors now have a streamlined online purchase experience for general admission and planetarium shows.

While working on integrating the Mount Washington Observatory into its science galleries, the Discovery Center took the opportunity to upgrade its lunar exhibits, including a new station on Apollo 14, the lunar mission led by Commander Alan Shepard 50 years ago, created by Volunteer Jerrid Kenney; additional Apollo 14 panels and exhibits on women in STEM, and relocation of the NH Minerals exhibit (on long-term loan from the Morrison Family), into the Discovery Center’s simulated lunar station; and to train new volunteers to offer views of the sun, moon and stars from its rooftop observatory.

Centrally located in New Hampshire, with its 92-foot tall Mercury-Redstone rocket clearly visible from I-93, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is just a short drive from Exits 14, 15E or 15W off I-93, with free parking, and is now taking bookings for April vacation (open seven days/week from April 17-May 2), Summer STEM Camps, birthday parties, weddings, facility rentals and general public visits year-round, with safety and enjoyable public engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics its top priorities.

The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center features 21st century interactive exhibits on aviation, astronomy, Earth and space science, an all-digital, full-dome planetarium and a variety of science, technology, and engineering and mathematics programs. The engaging, robust educational programs are geared towards families, teens, seniors, students, community groups and lifelong learners. For more information, visit www.starhop.com.

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