One of my favorite things about Science Museum Oklahoma – or as I’ll forever call it, the Omniplex – is that it essentially serves as two museums in one.
Not only does it function as a modern-day children’s science museum with hands-on learning exhibits that keep wondrous kids entertained and engaged, but thanks to its dated displays from the 1980s, it also doubles as a history and nostalgia museum that entertains parents.
You know, things like the Shadow Wall, the earthquake exhibit, and – my personal favorite, the Mighty Mouth – a giant, climbable fiberglass set of false teeth where kids can look at gross pictures of cavities, watch videos about dental visits, and most importantly, play 8-bit video games where they practice brushing teeth.
Well, until now.
Earlier this week, Omniplex scientists announced they’re closing and updating the exhibit for $1.2 million in renovations. Here's what the new giant teeth will look like.
Yikes. For $1.25 million, couldn't they get a gold grill or something?
In addition to new teeth, the rest of the exhibit is apparently getting big upgrades.
Via KOCO:
The Science Museum Oklahoma's iconic Mighty Mouth exhibit, a favorite since the 1980s, is closing for renovations.
The exhibit will be getting an upgrade thanks to a $1.25 million gift from Delta Dental of Oklahoma and its foundation.
The 29-foot exhibit, used for climbing, photography, and learning about oral hygiene, is undergoing a transformation to add shine and new interactive features.
“We are able to literally brush our teeth,” Sherry Marshall, president and CEO of Science Museum Oklahoma, said. “The stars just aligned for everyone to come together for us to do this renovation. While we do love nostalgia, we love the bright, new, shiny, as well.”
I’m with Sherry on this. I like both nostalgia and shiny-and-new. That's why I don't care that the new renderings look boring and blah. That’s why I – on behalf of all elder Gen X dads – don’t care what they do to the teeth, but I beg Ms. Marshall and Delta Dental to please, please, please keep the old 8-bit tooth-brushing video game.
Every time I take my kid to the museum, we end up playing it. And in that brief, magical moment of intergenerational bonding, I get to say, “This is what video games were like when Daddy was a kid.” Then we move on to the mirror maze, tide pool, and tornado simulator thing. You know, the classics.
It’s little things like that that make Science Museum Oklahoma fun and tolerable for parents. You can’t just replace it with a touchscreen flossing simulator and call it progress. At least study the cultural implications before you take it away! That’s how woke science works now, right?
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
