After undergoing several years of renovations, the iconic Clore Garden of Science is reopening as the “New Clore Garden of Science” with modernized design, upgraded tech, and a fresh approach. Updates include a state-of-the-art two-story facility for indoor installations and learning activities and a reimagined outdoor playscape for a wide range of audiences, including individual and organized groups. A centerpiece of the Davidson Institute of Science Education, the New Clore Garden captures the spirit of scientific exploration, aiming to reinvent the way visitors engage in discovery.
Based on the collaborative work of scientists, educators, and field experts, the New Clore Garden experience takes a holistic approach to blur the lines between disciplines, research, and fun — maximizing the inherent potential of an outdoor science garden.
As visitors first step onto the New Clore Garden grounds, they encounter the Garoon Family Legacy Square. Generously supported by Howard Garoon of Illinois, one of the earliest donors to the first Clore Garden, this outdoor courtyard includes some of the Clore Garden’s most timeless and beloved exhibits, showcasing the evolution of this educational complex — from its early days to its transformation into an ultra-modern science museum.
Sunlight, wind, and water play an important role in many of the Garden's interactive outdoor displays, demonstrating the laws of physics, solar energy, water power, and other natural phenomena. New indoor features include the AI Media lab, the Culinary Lab for learning about the science behind the foods we enjoy, and a new Multidisciplinary Lab, where visitors can use a variety of lab equipment to investigate specimens and biological phenomena.
Classic exhibits include a solar furnace that can instantly set wood on fire, water sprinklers that surround you with a full-circle rainbow, a chance to feel what it's like to walk on the moon, and a water channel that shows the physics of wave action while allowing young hands to reach in and feel. The new AI Lab — designed to incorporate coding, mathematics, art, and science — houses a state-of-the-art, 270-degree optical tracking system to detect movement throughout the room.
Exhibits come to life when a curious investigator twists, pushes, bounces, or fits pieces together. Visitors 10 and up can experience what it’s like to become a human yo-yo, and those as young as 5 can whisper secrets that travel across the park, or spin in place like an Olympic ice skater, and perform a dozen other experiments that fascinate and educate. Accommodating multiple levels of understanding, the New Garden’s outdoor playscape features theme-based areas that fuse experimentation with hands-on multisensory fun for visitors of all ages.
The new Clore Garden of Science is a beacon of interactive learning in Israel, where abstract concepts turn into tangible experiences, and where visitors of all ages from every sector of society can spark a passion for science.