YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The addition of two new labs on the second floor of the Oh Wow! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology will help draw an age bracket older than its traditional demographic, its executive director said.
A new 3D printing lab, technology hub and temporary maze are among the features of the recently renovated space.
Oh Wow marked what has become known as “Pi Day” – an annual commemoration of the mathematical constant, as well as the birthday of the renowned theoretical physicist Albert Einstein – with a news conference and invitation-only preview of the renovated space Friday. The space is scheduled to open to the general public April 16.
“We’re just super grateful to have the opportunity to reach more students in the Mahoning Valley and beyond, as well as families and adults,” said Katie Seminara-DeToro, Oh Wow executive director. “Whoever is a curiosity seeker, this is the place for them.”
Oh Wow’s purchase of the former McCrory Building in 2019 permitted the center to expand beyond the ground floor and basement level space it has occupied since its opening in May 2011. The second-floor renovation cost about $500,000, Seminara-DeToro said.
“What you’re seeing here – our expansion and renovation of the second floor – is something that was a vision that began several years ago under the leadership of our board and our previous executive directors,” said Ellie Platt, chairwoman of Oh Wow’s board of directors. “I’m humbled and really proud to be part of the team that was able to bring it to the finish line. But what you’re seeing here was really the effort of a lot of people over the last several years.”
One of the new spaces, the 3D printing lab, was developed in partnership with America Makes, the national additive manufacturing accelerator based in downtown Youngstown. The space features an array of 3D printers and even chairs that were manufactured using additive manufacturing technology.
“Part of our mission is making sure as many people are aware of the additive manufacturing technology as possible,” said Emily Young, education and workforce development project engineer for America Makes. “So through this program, we’re opening up the eyes of families and really young children to what 3D printing is and what it can do.”
America Makes has partnered previously with Oh Wow for its annual Silly Science Sunday and by supporting curriculum at the annual Summer Manufacturing Institute “to engage with students in that out-of-class time so that they can have fun with 3D printing in a way that isn’t tied to a classroom grade,” she said. In addition, the institute had a temporary exhibit, Alice Engineer in Wonderland, in Oh Wow’s basement in 2023.
Another new space, the technology hub, will feature programmable Sphero robots and coding drones, Seminara-DeToro said.
In addition, through a partnership with Youngtown Business Incubator, scheduled programming using YBI’s virtual reality headsets will be offered. YBI will train Oh Wow staff, who will be working in the technology hub, in the use of the headsets, said Megan Mayich, YBI’s director of youth entrepreneurship.
“That way they could be utilized instead of sitting at YBI,” she said. The headsets will feature narratives involving environments such as the ocean or a trip to space, she said.
“The two new labs are going to allow us to hit a higher age range, especially with the 3D printing and additive manufacturing focus,” Seminara-DeToro said. “Traditionally, Oh Wow has been what we call zero to 12, zero to 14 on the main exhibit floor and the basement level. However, with this floor, we’re looking to offer some more workforce development opportunities and really start to tap into that middle to high school age.”
Currently, much of the second floor is being used by a cardboard-box maze installed recently by A-Maze-D, a California company that has installed similar mazes in children’s museums nationwide.
The maze will remain in place for a year, Seminara-DeToro said. After that, the InspireWorks lab, currently located in the basement level, will be relocated to the second floor. In April, Oh Wow has personnel coming in to conduct in-person 3D printing training, and the same people specialize in the design of maker spaces and tinker labs.
“So when they’re here in April, we’re going to start those conversations about exactly what the space needs to look like and how we can elevate what we already have in existence,” she said.
Platt said she was excited about what the expansion means not just for Oh Wow but for downtown in general.
“I’m proud that over this last year we really had the perseverance and the leadership on our board to keep pushing,” even at times when it was difficult, Platt said. Virtually all of downtown was affected by the May 28, 2024, natural gas line explosion [at Realty Tower], but I’m so proud of our downtown community, Oh Wow and our board.
In addition to thanking Oh Wow’s various donors and partners, Seminara-DeToro also acknowledged Oh Wow’s role as a downtown tourist attraction. She told of a family from Ashtabula who visited last weekend rather than traveling to science centers in Cleveland or Erie, Pa., and said they would return.
“We’re happy to bring those people in, and then hope that the rest of downtown shows them a great time and gives them a warm welcome while they’re here,” Seminara-DeToro said.
“They’ve just been an amazing partner. They’re such a tourist attraction,” said Megan Magnetta, executive director of the Mahoning County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “When you think about families coming to visit, there’s not always a lot of options for the kids to have a great time and to learn as well. So that’s really been a great thing.”
Between now and the April 16 opening, Oh Wow will have test groups in to “help us kind of get the ball rolling here,” Seminara-DeToro said. Those groups will include students from Trumbull Career & Technical Center, members of a Girl Scout troop coming to qualify for their engineering badge and students from Horizon Science Academy.
There is no plan in place yet for what will happen with the existing InspireWorks space.
“We have some building improvements that need to happen in the next few years, so the basement is going to shift quite a bit,” Seminara-DeToro said. “However, we don’t have a full plan yet to talk about.”
Pictured at top: From left are Emily Young, Katie Seminara-DeToro and Ellie Platt.