Imagination Station Science & History Museum is an interactive

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

located in downtown

Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. Located approximately east of the capital city of Raleigh, it is served by the interchange of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 264. Wilson had an estimated p ...

at 224 Nash Street SE. It is housed in the former Wilson Federal Building which served as a post office with a federal courthouse of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (in case citations, E.D.N.C.) is the United States district court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Caroli ...

from its construction in 1928. One of the former courtrooms serves as the "Science Courtroom", a classroom used for science demonstrations and history programs.

Timeline

1989 Science Museums of Wilson Inc, Imagination Station is founded
1990 Bill F. Streeter becomes the museums first Executive Director
1991 Vincent D. Adkins becomes the museums first Exhibits Manager and Builder
1992 Imagination Station Science Museum Opens To The Public
1994 Jim Henley becomes the museums second Executive Director
1995 Joe Harden becomes interim Executive Director
1996 Todd Boyette becomes the museums third Executive Director
1999 Jerry Reynolds becomes the museums fourth Executive Director
2000 Tropical Trek Exhibit on the museums second floor catches on fire and damages the building
2002 Imagination Station Re-Opens in its original location after operating in another building for two years
2003 Karl L. McKinnon becomes the museums fifth Executive Director.
2007 Jonathan Brooks becomes the museums sixth Executive Director.
2009 North Carolina Museum of The Coastal Plain opens on the third floor of Imagination Station.
2013 Nancy Van Dolsen becomes the museums seventh Executive Director.
2019 Jennifer B. Byrd becomes Interim Executive Director.
2020 Jennifer B. Byrd becomes the museums eighth Executive Director.
The museum is an independently funded non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that exists to provide informal science and history education through its exhibits, educational programs, and community events. The museum also offers outreach programs with their "Science & History on Wheels" (SHOW) which brings science demonstrations and history programs to classrooms and organizations across eastern North Carolina. In the early 2000s, a fire at the building prompted a move to a smaller temporary location four blocks north. The museum has since moved back.

External links

Federal Judicial Center Historic Federal Courthouses page
on this building.

References

{{reflist Science museums in North Carolina Children's museums in North Carolina Museums in Wilson County, North Carolina Wilson, North Carolina 1989 establishments in North Carolina Museums established in 1989