How To Build An Exhibit: Our Changing Earth

Have you ever wondered how the Connecticut Science Center’s exhibit galleries and exhibits are developed? Here is a behind the scenes tour of how our most recent gallery, Our Changing Earth, came into being. Exhibit design is a way of telling a story, determining the most effective way to engage audiences in the topic. There …

Experiencing Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed- Baby Names of the Maya

When the expecting parents hear that they are going to have a child they become excited with all of the possibilities of what to name their newborn pride and joy, including parents of the Maya civilization. Like many parents, Maya parents are very deliberate with every intention they set for their children so there will …

Behind the Scenes in the E-Cab: Raising Butterflies

At the Connecticut Science Center we have a special exhibit called the Butterfly Encounter. This is an indoor greenhouse filled with an assortment of exotic plants and butterflies. The Encounter is an ecotourism attraction that helps support the education of students and the public alike regarding conservation, biodiversity, and different environment. With hundreds of people …

Experiencing Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed- The Maya Calendar

The Maya people had many innovative and defining practices and structures that helped their civilization flourish. The Maya had a numeric system, games, aqueducts, and even a calendar to tell time. The calendar that the Maya used looks very different in comparison to the 12 month Gregorian Calendar that we use. The Mayan Calendar consists …

The Maya and Butterflies: Then and Now

Butterflies have become an integral and fun addition to the Science Center over the past couple of years and as we explore our newest traveling exhibition, Maya: The Hidden World Revealed, we are learning about how butterflies were important to the ancient Maya civilization and the current Maya descendants in Central America. Then: Butterflies were …

Experience Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed- Maya Stories

The Maya Genesis Story, also known as the Maya Creation Story, can be found in the Maya book called, “Popol Vuh,” or “The Book of the People.” Luckily, this book was not destroyed when the Spanish invaded in the 18th Century, making the “Popol Vuh” a valuable historical text and a great way for us …

Experiencing Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed- Maya Body Modifications

In the twentieth century, body modifications gained immense popularity in American culture, but they were commonplace for the Maya centuries before we adopted them into our own society. The Maya saw body modifications as symbols of strength, representations of their religious beliefs and spirituality, and demonstrations of social status. They believed that the pain and …

Experiencing Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed- Maya Home Life

The Connecticut Science Center is currently hosting the world-class, blockbuster traveling exhibition Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed. The exhibition is the largest of its kind in the United States and invites you to uncover the rise and eventual decline of this majestic civilization — including its social, natural, and spiritual realms — through never-before-seen artifacts, hands-on …