HARTFORD - The minute I caught sight of the wavy roof that seems to hover over the Connecticut Science Center like a silver magic carpet, I knew this was no ordinary museum.
My curiosity was piqued further upon entering the six-story, light-filled atrium with open-structured elevators and a wall of glass overlooking the Connecticut River.
And once we began exploring the 150 hands-on exhibits - including one in which you move a ball using brain waves - the deal was sealed.
For grown-ups, the awe of New England’s newest museum is the building itself.
The $165 million wonder designed by César Pelli and his New Haven-based firm, Pelli Clarke Pelli, is breathtaking, with stunning valley views and beautiful architectural details throughout.
The museum, which opened last month, also takes its eco-friendly mission seriously. About 95 percent of the steel used in the structure came from recycled cars. Sensors in the building detect the level of ambient light and automatically adjust the artificial light to save energy. And the utensils in the cafe are made of corn, making them both compostable and biodegradable.
But for children, the draw is the science.
After lunch in the small cafe - which incorporates fruits, cheeses, and other organic produce from farms in Connecticut and Massachusetts - we started on the sixth floor and worked our way down. It didn’t take long to realize that nearly all of the exhibits are entirely hands-on, actively encouraging visitors to get involved. At the Wet Lab, a “gallery scientist’’ helped us use a handheld microscope to examine tiny creepy crawlies (mayflies, water spiders, snails, and beetle larvae) alive in the weeds, roots, and water pulled that day from the riverbanks. The images were projected on larger screens for all to see.
At the weather station, my son Rob, 10, used a computer to create a script for a three-day forecast and recorded himself playing a TV meteorologist. Climate Change Theater shows a 20-minute film (narrated by an animated sheep) on global warming and alternative energy technology. One of the biggest attractions on the sixth floor isn’t an exhibit at all but a pop-out floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the river, the city, and beyond (similar to the window jutting out from the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, but smaller). Watching a passing rainstorm pour down from that high up was a perfect complement to the floor’s focus on the earth sciences. And coming soon is a rooftop garden featuring plants and grasses native to New England.
“The view is incredible,’’ said Karen Nuremberg of Hamden, who was visiting with her grandchildren Valerie, 8, and Alexander, 5. “We happened to be here for a heck of a beautiful thunderstorm.’’
