Impression 5 Science Center’s giant eye has been talked about for years, but now it’s finally time to unveil the big peeper.
Impression 5 will open the $30,000 exhibit to the public on Nov. 19. The concept of the giant eye, which seeks to allow visitors to get an up close look at the inner workings of an eyeball, was developed by VisionCare Associates and is sponsored by several Michigan businesses.
“We couldn’t find anybody who had a giant, walk-in eyeball,” says Impression 5's director, Erik Larson. “It’s not only unique to the region, but it’s possibly unique to the nation.”
Larson would like to add a few ancillary exhibits to enhance the eyeball experience. The Impression 5 team has thought about hanging smaller eyeballs from the ceiling, so visitors can look through them and see what it’s like to view the world through a variety of eye-related problems, such as cataracts.
“This would let people get an understanding not only of what it’s like to have that challenge, but also get them think about why that happened and if there’s any preventable behavior they can adopt to avoid those things,” Larson says.
Impression 5 is also creating an eyeball float to contribute to the annual Silver Bells festival in Downtown Lansing.
Source: Daphne Reznik, VisionCare Associates, PC
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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