Liberty Science Center to Reopen With a "Blast" on Labor Day Weekend! New Experiences Include "Boom Time," Expanded Animal Programming, and Back-By-Popular-Demand Exhibits!
JERSEY CITY, N.J., September 3, 2020 – When guests return to Liberty Science Center for its reopening this weekend, they’re going to have a real BLAST! That’s because one of the new experiences is Boom Time, which features controlled explosions inside a one-of-a-kind 57-square-foot movable, safe room.
Visitors will also enjoy meeting LSC’s live animals and enhanced animal programming under the “Wild About Animals” banner; new shows in the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the largest in the Western Hemisphere; and, exhibits returning for a short time due to popular demand: “Wild Kratts: Creature Power!” and “Angry Birds Universe.”
“Here at Liberty Science Center, we are extremely excited to finally reopen after a six-month long hiatus,” declared Paul Hoffman, LSC President and CEO. “I am immensely thankful to the staff for their dedication and commitment to preparing LSC for its reopening and bringing these exciting experiences to life for our guests. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back!”
Tickets are now available and the Center strongly recommends that they be purchased online in advance as there is a 25% capacity limit to allow for appropriate social distancing. The doors open to the public on Labor Day Weekend, September 5-7, from 10 am to 5 pm following an exclusive members-only preview day on Friday, September 4, from 10 am to 4 pm. Tickets are available via LSC.org or by reservation at 201.253.1310.
Reopening Experience Highlights
- Wild About Animals is home to over 100 species of live animals and a near-constant rotation of animal enrichment programs showcasing the residents’ natural abilities. Guests might see a snake navigate a vertical maze, a chinchilla leap between the towers of its castle, or a sand boa bury itself in its own personal sandbox. On warm weather days, the action will expand outdoors and guests may be greeted by a tortoise enjoying its miniature fountain or the tegu lizard basking in the grass.
- The Boom Time show features controlled liquid nitrogen explosions of objects like watermelons, piñatas, and pumpkins several times a day. With each blast generating pressure in excess of 200 pounds-per-square-inch, the blast wave will be visible through the perforated ceiling of the room, providing a unique teaching experience.
- Two temporary exhibitions have been extended due to extreme popular demand for a very limited time. Angry Birds Universe takes guests into the world of the Angry Birds for adventures in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math through fun interactive activities like creating new characters in the high-tech design studio and racing customized handheld vehicles. Young guests will join the popular Kratt Brothers on explorations in Wild Kratts: Creature Power! where they’ll slide like an emperor penguin through Antarctica and swing like a spider monkey through the Tropical Rainforest.
- The Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, will reopen with enhanced safety protocols and new live shows like Planets Tonight and Deep Space Tour, along with the returning fan favorite Sesame Street show, One World One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure.
Liberty Science Center has worked hard to create fun, new COVID-safe experiences. For everyone’s safety, some exhibitions will be adjusted or temporarily closed. Building capacity is limited to less than 25% to help guests maintain appropriate social distance.
All guests and staff must participate in on-site health screenings, including temperature checks when entering the building. If one registers as 100.4°F or higher, that guest and their party will have to return another time. Everyone age 2 and older will need to wear masks.
Increased daily disinfecting and sanitizing protocols will be in place for the entire facility, with special attention paid to highly trafficked areas and high-touch surfaces throughout the building and its exhibits. All of the air filters have been changed and upgraded to a quality exceeding the CDC recommendations. The air handling system has also been optimized to increase run times and allow for significant air exchanges throughout the day, bringing fresh air from outside into the facility.
For the health and safety of all guests, LSC asks guests to stay home if you have a fever or cough, are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, have recently traveled to a hot-spot state, or have a known or potential exposure to COVID-19 within the last 14 days. You must reschedule your ticket for another day (by calling 201.253.1310) as you won't be permitted to enter the Science Center. The Café will be closed, although vending machine refreshments will be available, and all snacks and drinks must be consumed outside.
About Liberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center (LSC.org) is a 300,000-square-foot not-for-profit learning center located in Liberty State Park on the Jersey City bank of the Hudson near the Statue of Liberty. Dedicated to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers and bringing the power, promise, and pure fun of science and technology to learners of all ages, Liberty Science Center houses the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, 12 museum exhibition halls, a live animal collection with 110 species, giant aquariums, a 3D theater, live simulcast surgeries, a tornado-force wind simulator, K-12 classrooms and labs, and teacher-development programs. More than 250,000 students visit the Science Center each year, and tens of thousands more participate in the Center’s off-site and online programs. Welcoming more than 750,000 visitors annually, LSC is the largest interactive science center in the NYC-NJ metropolitan area.