I recently got to experience COSI’s newest exhibit, Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science. What an amazing exhibit! I was transported to an archaeological dig in Egypt and got to try my hand at building a pyramid, rebuilding some ancient pottery, figuring out which mummy x-ray was a fake, controlling the winds to transform the desert landscape – and I got to see a REAL mummy!!! I won’t tell you the secrets of how mummies are made; you’ll have to see that for yourself. I’ll just say it involves, among other things, an interesting method of removing the brain -- eeew! Whether you’re young or not so young, learning is fun at COSI. Go once and you’ll understand why COSI was named the #1 science center in the county! When you head out to be transported to Egypt, make sure to linger in the hallway on the way to the entrance to the exhibit. The photographs of Egypt are worth the ticket price all by themselves.
“But Ruth,” you ask, “you’re an economic developer. What does a cool exhibit at a great science center have to do with business attraction and retention?” Lots! If you were a CEO and you were deciding what region of the country to invest in a new facility, a well-educated workforce and a good quality of life would be very important to you. And COSI helps to provide the Columbus Region with both! Students in our region have ample opportunities – at COSI and other venues – to have learning experiences outside the normal classroom. And imagine if you were CEO of a company that does research and development, wouldn’t you want your future employees to be exposed to just how exciting a career in science can be? It’s not enough to have employees today – companies need to know that there will be employees tomorrow so they can continue to operate in our region. COSI’s exhibits spark the interest of our students to consider careers in science and research, a workforce that we want to cultivate in the Columbus Region.
Additionally, Mr. or Ms. CEO, you would care about your employees’ life outside of work. Is the community I’m considering an interesting place to live? If I need to transfer some of my managers to run the new facility, will they want to live there? What can my employees do after 5:00 p.m. and on the weekends? The Columbus Region has loads to offer our citizens – restaurants galore, fantastic shopping, award winning museums, galleries, sporting events, concerts, great parks. . . the list goes on and on. Columbus is a great place to live, work, and play (for more on that check out our Web site at www.LiveWorkPlayColumbus.com).
So, I’ll putting on my archaeologist outfit and going back for more of the dig – hope to see you there!
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