History of COSI Toledo

In 1984, the Portside Festival Marketplace opened along the Maumee River with the hope of revitalizing downtown Toledo. In 1990, the marketplace closed leaving a vacant 100,000 square foot modern facility. A committee, appointed by the mayor, was charged with finding the best use for the site. Researching options, committee members heard repeatedly the need for an educational family attraction. As a result, COSI, the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, was approached regarding the development of a similar institution in Toledo. Together, a structure was developed making COSI Toledo an independent, not-for-profit organization with a board of trustees from Northwest Ohio, while taking advantage of the experience and resources of COSI Columbus.

A major fundraising campaign raised $9.5 million dollars, surpassing the original goal by $4.5 million dollars. Additionally, the state supported the project with $10 million dollars. Another major step in establishing COSI Toledo was the transfer of the facility to COSI at a value of $16 million dollars.

On March 1, 1997, COSI Toledo opened its doors to the public and has now welcomed almost 3 million visitors to Downtown Toledo.

On December 31, 2007, COSI Toledo closed its doors to the public. We remain committed to delivering quality educational programming to our region through our outreach program.

 

COSI Toledo: Serving the needs of Northwest Ohio with critical science and math education.

Most people in Northwest Ohio know COSI Toledo as a dynamic educational, downtown attraction that has served nearly 3 million visitors in its 10 years since opening. Each year approximately 280,000 people, students and families, visit COSI Toledo for powerful exhibits and engaging hands-on learning.

COSI Toledo offers an exciting array of educational programs designed to address some of this community’s most critical needs. All of our educational programs and demonstrations are aligned to both Ohio and Michigan State curriculum standards. In just 10 years, COSI Toledo has become an integral and indispensable part of the economic and educational fabric of Northwest Ohio.

Grants and contributions support all of these educational programs. Without this needed community support, the kids, teachers and families that these programs serve would not be able to access these resources.

Critical Community Need: Family Science Education

• A National Science Foundation survey showed that 90% of the American public is interested in science, yet only 15% are even moderately well informed about science and less than one third understand scientific process. Americans do not feel that science is relevant to their lives.
• Families are spending less time together, and only a fraction of the time that they do spend together is focused on learning or enrichment activities.

COSI Toledo responds: The Science Cafe™:

• Science Café is dedicated to family science education and hands-on exploration.
• Science Café scientists explore science concepts with kids and their families at bench activities throughout the day, which since its inception in 2004, has become a favorite destination within COSI for visitors of all ages.
• With the recent addition of our Extreme Science Theater, we’re able to more effectively reach children through science demonstrations on a level that makes science, not only educational, but fun as well.
• The Science Café engages visitors in open-ended, hands-on science that is directly relevant to their lives, including visits from area scientists, engineers and artists who illustrate science in action in our lives.
• The Science Café is sponsored by GM Powertrain and The Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Critical Community Need: Empowerment of Young Women

• Girls are trailing their male counterparts in expressing interest in science, choosing science careers, and taking advanced level science and math classes. Among urban and at-risk youth, this gap is even greater.
• Recent studies show that fewer women are going into technical and computer careers today than did so ten years ago.

COSI Toledo responds: Girls in Science

COSI Toledo has developed an array of programs specifically designed for young women, including:

• UPCLOSE: COSI Toledo serves our community by offering a youth development program that has enriched the lives of over 105, 7th through 11th grade girls, from over 27 different schools in the Toledo area in the last 4 years. Generously funded by the Toledo Community Foundation and Owens Illinois, UPCLOSE (Unleashing Potential by Creating Learning Opportunities through Science Exploration) participants have volunteered over 2500 hours to facilitate science activities and provide service to COSI Toledo and to the community.
• Girls in Science; Making Dreams a Reality: An interactive resource fair designed to encourage girls (ages 13-17) to consider and explore careers in math, science and technology by engaging them with women role models in those fields.
• Camp-In: Nearly 5000 girls spend the night at COSI Toledo each year immersed in hands-on activities designed to stimulate their interest and confidence in science and technology.
• The Toledo Community Foundation, Owens Illinois, KeyBank, Eaton Charitable and Daimler Chrysler sponsor the Girls in Science programs.

Critical Community Need:

In the late 90’s, a great need for programming developed as districts were provided with money through SchoolNet/eTech to purchase distance learning/video conferencing equipment for their schools, but educational programming to utilize that technology was in short supply.

• Many rural and urban schools cannot afford to take field trips or take advantage of other educational resources in the community.
• The gap between rural and suburban school achievement is widening.
• Teachers are often not comfortable presenting hands-on activities in the classroom.
• There is a deep need to integrate currently available technology into the classroom experience.

COSI Toledo responds: Interactive Distance Learning

• COSI Toledo’s nationally recognized distance learning program is the largest content provider in the state of Ohio and one of the largest in the nation.
• This unique education model includes a set of hands-on materials sent to each teacher in advance and one or more hour-long sessions with a COSI teacher.
• The COSI Toledo distance learning programs have expanded to include over 40 different topics. Each topic is tied to the curriculum to help teachers throughout Ohio and the nation, present science in an interesting and motivating way using inquiry-based methods.
• COSI Toledo’s distance learning program has connected to classrooms in 11 countries on over 5 continents, as well as right here in our own backyard.
• Our Interactive Distance Learning program is sponsored by The Stranahan Foundation.

Critical Community Need: Need for teacher training in science and math.

• According to a study completed in 2002, “… roughly 75% of elementary teachers feel very well qualified to teach reading/language arts … (but) only about 25% feel very well qualified to teach science” (National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education, 2000).
• According to The Ohio Collaborative, a research and policy analysis group, special programs and policies will continue to be needed for specific teaching areas (both science and math) where teaching shortages are being experienced.

COSI Toledo responds: Teacher Professional Development (Project ISIS, COSI Institute and Inquiry Workshops)

• COSI's Project ISIS, Inquiry and Science Induction For Schools has teamed up with Toledo Public Schools, Lucas County schools and other districts in the area to provide an in-depth professional development program that assists elementary and middle school teachers in gaining new skills and adopting best practices that support and improve science and math teaching. ISIS has delivered training to over 100 teachers over the last three years.
• The COSI Toledo Institute provides staff development workshops for schools, which align with state standards, model research-based practices, provide contact hour certificates and follow COSI's active learning approach that teachers learn by doing.
• COSI Toledo Inquiry Workshops and Teacher Events introduce inquiry-based activities and resources to teachers in a number of content areas from science and math to language arts and music. These resources provide teachers with a number of strategies to help students develop a love of science and math, as well as encourage the continued study of math and science beyond their middle school years. Over 3000 teachers have benefited from COSI Toledo's teacher workshops and events.
• COSI Toledo’s Teacher Professional Development programs are sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, RGK Foundation, the Minniger Foundation and the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

Critical Community Need: Raising standardized testing scores in the community.

• School funding in Ohio is directly linked to students' performance on standardized tests making scores crucial to a school's existence.
• Lack of funding for field trips made school bus travel to COSI Toledo difficult for many area urban schools.

COSI Toledo responds: Workshop of Wheels

• COSI Toledo visits dozens of schools in the area each year, both during and after school, with its Workshops on Wheels Program to deliver hands-on inquiry-based math and science programming aligned to performance objectives set forth by the Ohio Department of Educations Achievement Tests. COSI Toledo's Workshops On Wheels are accompanied by a COSI WOW Educator's Resource Guide, a state standards-aligned teacher guide with activities to assist teachers in extending the learning for their students beyond the visit from the science center.
• Science test scores for one Toledo urban school, The Old West End Academy, moved from the lowest to the third highest in the city. The school credited the improvement to their 3-year program with COSI.

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