SURF-sponsored water experience opens at Washington Pavilion

The Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is celebrating its newest, most captivating attraction, the H20 Workshop, with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. in the Kirby Science Discovery Center, and a grand opening that includes free museum admission for the public on Saturday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The new, immersive water experience, sponsored by the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, opened in July.

As America’s deepest underground science laboratory, SURF’s mission is to advance world-class science and inspire learning across generations. The organization develops unique K–12 outreach programs for future scientists, delivers exciting opportunities for discovery to community audiences, creates collaborative spaces for scientists from around the world, and supports extraordinary projects—like the H20 Workshop.

“We are so grateful for the Sanford Underground Research Facility’s investment in the Kirby Science Discovery Center and excited to see children using this fun space later this summer,” said Kerri DeGraff, Chief Operating Officer with Washington Pavilion Management, Inc. “This exhibit is unique to our museum and offers both hands-on learning and full-on joy to those who come here.”

The H20 Workshop includes interactive, colorful, and educational activities. Fog pipes, rain clouds, aqueducts, river channels, squirt guns, whirlpools and fountains help children learn about the phases of water. In addition, colorful wall panels introduce visitors to the science taking place nearly a mile underground at SURF and highlight how those experiments stay dry.

The free museum day will give visitors opportunities to explore more than a hundred science exhibits in the Kirby Science Discovery Center, including the eight galleries of the Visual Arts Center. The day also will feature several fun, hands-on activities, including “Muons in the Pavilion,” in which guests can in investigate the properties of radiation and the challenges of shielding; and “Biofilms: Stuck Like Glue,” an activity that puts biofilms under a microscope—and lets guests create their own biofilms.

Since July, the H20 Workshop has become a favorite at the Washington Pavilion, said Darrin Smith, President and CEO of Washington Pavilion Management, Inc. “We eagerly anticipate celebrating this incredible new feature with a well-deserved ribbon-cutting ceremony and free admission day for the community later this week, thanks to Sanford Underground Research Facility.”

Mike Headley, Executive Director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority and Laboratory Director of SURF, said projects like the H20 Workshop fit perfectly with SURF’s mission.

“We want to educate learners of all ages about our work and create fun, educational outreach opportunities across the State of South Dakota,” he said. “We are so proud to be sponsoring the H2O Workshop and the free museum admission at the Washington Pavilion and excited to share SURF’s story with our neighbors in eastern South Dakota.”

The new immersive water experience was made possible as part of a donation to the Kirby Science Discovery Center in the amount of $1.2 million from the estate of Patricia Knutson. A portion of the gift was used to create the H20 Workshop. SURF’s sponsorship of the exhibit and free admission day is valued at $80,000 over five years. The H20 Workshop replaces the “Room to Grow” exhibit on the second floor of the Kirby Science Discovery Center. For more information about the H2O Workshop, visit WashingtonPavilion.org/H2O.

About Washington Pavilion Management, Inc. (WPMI)

Washington Pavilion Management, Inc. is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the largest arts organization in the state. The management company oversees and programs two historic City of Sioux Falls facilities: the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science and the Orpheum Theater Center. The company also provides professional management services, including administration; arts, science, and educational programming; ticketing; event management; marketing; and more to other arts and nonprofit organizations. For information, please visit WashingtonPavilion.org.

About Sanford Underground Research Facility

The Sanford Underground Research Facility is in Lead, S.D., and hosts world-leading research experiments in physics, biology, geology, and engineering. Dubbed America’s Underground Science Laboratory, it is managed by the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority. For more information about SURF and SURF’s educational programming, please visit SanfordLab.org.