Courtesy Photo / The DoSeum
The DoSeum specializes in hands-on exhibits to make learning fun.
Let’s call it an educational experience worth wagging a tail about.
The DoSeum, San Antonio’s interactive children’s science museum, is presenting “Dogs! A Science Tail” from June 1 through Sept. 2, a special exhibit devoted to our canine friends. Expect a wealth of interactive science and fun, according to museum officials. And, yes, a few dog puns along the way.
“This is exhibit is escaping off the leash!” Meredith Doby, the DoSeum’s chief creative director, said with a laugh. “The DoSeum is focused on STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics — and this exhibit works really well with that. It’s the fun topic of dogs, but we get to learn about the science behind it. We have many dog lovers here in San Antonio. We’re definitely a dog city, so that’s a nice connection.”
The exhibit will feature a variety of hands-on activities, including walking an invisible pet companion through a neighborhood maze, an immersive canine head that allows visitors to hear like humankind’s best friend and a race where participants can time themselves against the world’s fastest dogs.
The DoSeum is even working with animal rescue group SNIPSA to have dog adoption events. The exhibit is primarily targeted to families, but those without children are welcome too, although they’ll need to pass a background check.
The DoSeum itself is a light-filled, joyous place that invites exploration from its young visitors.
“Our overriding philosophy is learning through doing,” Doby said.
The new dog exhibition is no exception.
“The whole thing is interactive, in that DoSeum style,” Doby added. “Everything you can touch, play, get your hands on. We’re very hands-on with everything we do.”
That educational approach originates from late-19th century educators including Maria Montessori and John Dewey. One of the first hands-on educational museums was San Francisco’s Exploratorium, established by Frank Oppenheimer — atom bomb creator Robert Oppenheimer’s brother and a contributor to the Los Alamos project.
The creation of San Antonio’s DoSeum came with initial financial help from H-E-B honcho Charles Butt, whose mother, Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Butt, was a teacher herself and a lifelong education proponent. The organization got its start as the San Antonio Children’s Museum, which was located downtown and focused on younger children.
“When we opened as the Doseum, we expanded our age range up to age 10 and started to focus on STEM skills,” Doby explained.
“Dogs! A Science Tail” was designed by the California Science Center, an LA-based family science museum with a similar sense of exploration and wonder.
“Museums will create these exhibits and they will tour around,” Doby said. “[One of] ours is actually about to go to Dublin, Ireland.”
That collaborative aspect of kid-friendly museums underscores a shared ethos: make science fun and interactive.“Dogs! A Science Tail” fits perfectly with that philosophy, according to Doby.
“If you’re a dog lover, if you’re interested in the science of dogs, if you’re curious about how your dog see, smells, or experiences the world, then you should come and see this exhibit,” she said.
$18, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, The DoSeum, 2800 Broadway, (210) 212-4453, thedoseum.org.
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