CLEVELAND (April 30, 2024) – Great Lakes Science Center is excited to announce the return of TapeScape, one of the most popular and requested exhibitions in the Science Center’s history! Beginning May 24, the Science Center will welcome guests aboard TapeScape: International Tape Station!
What exactly is a TapeScape? In case you missed it the first time around, it’s an exhibition unlike any other! Using the humble product known as packing tape, the Science Center and designer/artist Eric Lennartson are building an all-ages playground entirely out of packing tape wrapped around a metal frame – a TapeScape! Lennartson harnesses the tensile strength of tape – or its ability to stretch under stress – to design unique, multisensory installations strong enough for kids and adults to climb on and explore.
For TapeScape’s return to the Science Center, we had to go bigger! The International Tape Station is seven times larger than the TapeScape we built in 2018! It’s a remarkable playscape structure inspired by the iconic design of the International Space Station! Equipped with state-of-the-art lighting and projection mapping technologies, this TapeScape is a fully immersive experience for guests.
Guests will explore the exhibit to learn about life on the space station and the ongoing research happening aboard right now! Interactive hands-on activities offer fun for families as they learn more about materials and how they are used in space.
The exhibition is focused on the dynamic intersection of materials science and the groundbreaking research at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, showcasing the real-life Cleveland driven innovations aboard the station.
Orbiting the perimeter of the tape station guests will also find a replica model of the Orion capsule, inviting them to step inside and explore the future of space research, along with authentic space artifact displays, a ground-level accessible tape tunnel, and more!
Plan your visit soon, TapeScape is only here through September 2! This special temporary exhibition is included with general admission, and does require guests to wear socks.
TapeScape was originally developed in 2011 at the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota’s PlayLab by Eric Lennartson, as a founding board member.
About Great Lakes Science Center
Great Lakes Science Center is one of the top ten museums in the nation as celebrated by the 2024 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award for Best Science Museum. The Science Center is home to the NASA Glenn Visitor Center and makes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) come alive for more than 300,000 visitors a year through hundreds of hands-on exhibits, temporary exhibitions, the Cleveland Clinic DOME Theater, historic Steamship William G. Mather, daily science demonstrations, seasonal camps, and more. The Science Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit institution, earned a 2023 Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid, a leading provider of insight and data about the non-profit world. The Science Center is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.