A new day at sunrise

A historic West Virginia museum prepares for a big move into the future.

You've got less than a year to visit Charleston, West Virginia's historic Sunrise Museum before the doors of the hillside facility close forever. But that's not altogether bad news.

In fact, what a year it will be-and what a promising light at the end of the passage. In winter 2003, Sunrise will transition into the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences-West Virginia, located on a prime chunk of downtown property.

"This year we'll be prototyping many of the exhibits," says R. Lewis Ferguson, community relations coordinator of Sunrise. "People can experience things early. We're experimenting and starting new programs to excite people." He allows that some of Sunrise's longtime favorites may travel to the new location-but for the time being, nothing is definite.

On a typical spring day at Sunrise, though, it's easy to spot the popular contenders. Children frolic their way into Lasting Impressions, a capture-- your-shadow exhibit involving light, photo-sensitive paper, and an acrylic plastic background. They also flock to the Whisper Dish for a demonstration on how sound moves through the air.

Not far away, a giant bubble wall draws oohs, aahs, and uh-ohs, depending on the moment in the bubble's life span. "It's the tallest bubble wall in the country," claims Lewis, watching youngsters create a shimmering screen of soap a millionth of an inch thick.

Black sand, too, is a candidate for the new facility. This particular day, grade-schoolers build a bridge by attracting gobs of the special sand-its grains infused with naturally occurring magnetic elements-with handheld magnets. The principle, not a geologic link to the region, is displayed here. The sand, Lewis reveals, comes from a dark-hued beach in California.

There's more, much more, in Sunrise's current incarnation-certainly enough to delight without the promise of a bigger, brighter facility. Even more fim will come in comparing this science center, housed in the 1905 home of Gov. William MacCorkle, to its slick successor.

Go on a weekend, preferably between noon and 4 p.m. Planetarium shows run four times on Saturday, twice on Sunday. And try your hand at each exhibit-it may be your last chance before the museum moves to the Clay Center for future waves of children to enjoy. CAROLANNE GRIFFITH ROBERTS

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Apr 2002
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