There’s a new reason to visit the Michigan Science Center – “Level Up,” an 8,000 square-foot, prototype exhibit connects playing games to problem-solving in daily life and potential careers and kid will love it.
The brand new Level Up exhibit is open now through June 2023 and access is included with general admission. The Michigan Science Center is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 10am to 4pm. Tickets are $18 for adults and $14 for children ages 2 to 15. Family memberships are $99 for a year and pays for itself with just two visits.
A special feature of the exhibit, the Michigan Science Center is Electric Playhouse Travels, a digital hands-free experience that promotes play with special puzzles and challenges. This component will only be part of the exhibit until January 3rd.
Michigan Science Center’s Level Up exhibit includes:
Console/Video Games – Research indicates action gamers are better skilled at using models to solve problems outside of games. In Portal 2 for the Xbox, players must come up with a question, design experiments, and implement solutions while applying advanced physics. Multiplayer modes allow players to collaboratively problem-solve to work toward a collective win against the game.
Virtual Reality Games – Featuring Oculus Rift headsets, this zone will transport you to different worlds and places. You will also learn how this technology is being used in healthcare settings.
Analog Games – Board games teach hands-on STEM skills without the need for a tech component and appeal to a wide age range. Large-scale games in Level Up will allow players to learn design and game mechanics.
Arcade Zone – The final zone will incorporate a dedicated space for guests to play classic arcade games plus winning games from the Games for Change (G4C) student challenge competition and games in a virtual playground with floor and ceiling projection where students use their body as the game controller.
The Ames Room – A special room designed to challenge your perceptions of reality by removing all the visual cues we usually use to determine an object’s size. This effect causes objects and people in a seemingly ordinary room shrink or grow depending on their position in the room. When we look at someone inside an Ames Room, our brains are fooled into thinking that the room is a regular square; in reality, the room is trapezoidal, with one corner farther away than the others. Mi-Sci’s Ames Room will also feature a selfie station for those who want to share their experience.
Michigan Science Center // 5020 John R. Street
