"Imagination Station" Is Almost Here

For those of you who haven't been paying attention (which is probably most of you), the former Toledo COSI (Center Of Science and Industry) is about to reopen its doors as "Imagination Station" on October 10th. I can hardly contain my excitement! Who wouldn't be excited though with a venue, now funded in large part by taxpayer dollars, that has:

• Taken its name from similar facilities in Wilson, NC and Lafayette, IN; after dropping the COSI name that Columbus would no longer allow it to use
• Is still in the same ill-suited building downtown
• Has still not presented its business plan publicly in spite of its acceptance of taxpayer funding (where are all of you YMCA people on this, by the way?)
• Has not decreased it's $8.50 entrance fee, in spite of the taxpayer largess
• While it has promised many new exhibits, has not actually said whether they are in place and if so, what they are

Now I know that we are all supposed to be set aside the harsh realities of life for the children, that science is an important part of a child's education where such an institution might help, and that we should probably be grateful that anyone is doing anything in downtown Toledo other than pulling out. I am afraid however, that the folks at Imagination Station have done nothing yet in my mind to prove to me that they are worthy of such enthusiasm, or of the public trust that they have been given for that matter. 

I am willing to give Imagination Station a small chance to prove itself worthy of the money now being lavished on it by Toledo taxpayers, but only a small chance. If the history of those running this facility is to be used as any indication, I suspect that they will deserve little else. It is my fear however, that it won't be long before we hear that they are going to need additional funding in this tough economy, that the exhibits will not be able to be refreshed as often as earlier committed to, and that many of their other grand plans will simply not be able to be realized. 

Perhaps then they can reorganize yet again, come to all of us cup in hand, and perpetrate yet another failed business plan on Toledo's citizens. Hey, then we could rename it: "Reincarnation Imagination Station", the museum that just won't die.