On April 1, 2000, Exploration Place opened its doors after years of planning and construction.
Next month, the popular science center in Wichita will hit 25 years in business.
One of the people behind the years of development, Phil Frick, is still part of Exploration Place as an honorary trustee. When he became involved in the early 1990s, though, it wasn’t intentional.
“I didn't know anything about the project,” Frick said. “I was accidentally there.”
Frick’s wife, Judy, was asked to join Exploration Place’s Board of Trustees to help conceptualize and lead the center to creation. But with Judy tied up with nonprofit work at the time, Phil Frick decided to help, thinking it would involve some meetings here and there.
Soon, Frick found himself leading planning, fundraisers and other tasks for the budding idea of a science center. That led him to quit his job at the time as a lawyer.
In the initial stages of Exploration Place, Frick worried whether he had made the right decision, fearing the execution of the center could “flop.”
But soon Exploration Place gained traction, starting with a $10 million donation from Velma Wallace, the widow of Cessna Aircraft leader Dwane Wallace. From there, local government involvement and other donations spurred on Frick and others involved with Exploration Place.
Frick said one of the biggest challenges was choosing an architect for the center. The board selected Moshe Safdie, and the building is now known globally for its iconic architecture.
Frick said Exploration Place’s signature building was intentional.
“The reason you have to go that strongly is you've got to almost force attention,” Frick said. “A dramatic building in a park area on the river, you're going to get attention.”
Tom Dondlinger was president of Dondlinger Construction when the company was chosen to construct the center. He said it was an honor just to be part of the project.
“I must admit, it was a little bit intimidating,” Dondlinger said. “It's quite the design, very unique, especially for the city of Wichita.”
After Exploration Place was up and running, Frick said he “drifted away, slowly.”
“I visit all the time, but I don't go to every board meeting. I don't make suggestions,” Frick said. “You need to transfer those responsibilities completely to others, so they take the responsibility.”
What’s next after 25 years?
With a quarter of a century behind the center, Exploration Place President Adam Smith said the anniversary marks a generational change.
“We're now starting to see people who came here when they were kids, who are now returning as adults with their kids,” Smith said. “And that's really healthy and good for an organization like ours because it means we're not the new thing anymore. We are part of the landscape and the culture of the community.”
Smith said the center is looking to return to its science center roots in the coming years.
“When Exploration Place opened, a lot of the exhibits here were what I'd call ‘high tech’ … it was touch screen interactives and flight simulation and things like that,” Smith said.
“Twenty-five years later, I've definitely moved away from that thinking about a place like this. A lot of the exhibits that I'm really pushing are actually quite simple.”
These exhibit ideas focus on hands-on aspects of a science museum, such as puzzle areas and other interactive activities.
“Every one of us is spending a ton of time now on devices … and not just the adults, kids as well,” Smith said. “And we're starting to conceptualize Exploration Place almost literally as a place to take a break from that (and) be that third place that a family can come and have a different kind of interaction.”
Another aspect of hands-on learning includes Exploration Place’s playscape, a multimillion dollar outdoor playscape that will open in the fall.
“That really will take Exploration Place to the next level,” Smith said. "For the first 25 years, we've been largely a wonderful science museum/children's museum that serves the people that live here or live quite close to Wichita.”
Smith said the playscape will change that.
“I'm expecting the tourism impact of Exploration Place to increase quite a lot, actually,” Smith said. “Hopefully, our local hotels and restaurants will feel some of that benefit because there's going to be some new economic activity coming in.”
Exploration Place will host a “birthday party” for its 25th anniversary on April 3. Smith said a weekend of special events and promotions will follow for the public.
