Science center now has imagination

DOWNTOWN TOLEDO - The Toledo Science Center officially changed its name to The Imagination Station during an official unveiling with local and state dignitaries Monday morning.

The Imagination Station will reopen in October 2009.

"You're coming down here to have a great time and to get intrigued by science," said Robert Savage, Toledo Science Center Vice-Chairman. "The teachers will teach the science. Our job is to whet your appetite and we think, when you talk about Imagination Station, that does all that."

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and State Rep. Peter Ujvagi were on hand for the official unveiling of the new name and logo.

“We wanted a name that would be both exciting and energetic,” said Lori Hauser, the building’s executive director. “Our new motto is pure science, pure fun. Pure science and pure fun is everything we are about.”

Hauser said the group launched a naming contest in February 2009. Over 2,000 submissions came from students, schools and Toledo residents, she said. She said a panel of 20 selected the new name.

A new logo accompanies the name change, Hauser added. She said the colorful logo reflects the building’s fresh start.

“The logo lets the imagination wonder,” she said.

Hauser said the building was currently undergoing paint and carpet renovations. The center has no exact date picked in October for reopening, she said. When it does, she said, it will embody the “pure science, pure fun” motto to the fullest.

“Each time someone visits it’s different,” she said. “It is very invigorating.”

( The Toledo Free Press is a FOX Toledo News media partner)