I remember spending most of my childhood buried in books; mostly books on dinosaurs, comic biographies and the sort. As a child, I was fascinated by the stories of great scientists who experimented their whole lives and wrote out the theories that make up the fundamentals of modern day science. As a child, I was blessed enough to have children encyclopedias strewn about the room, ready to tell me more or less how things in the world worked.
Before my parents started to bring me abroad, I always wanted to go to the local science center. It's a bit sad, but I managed to go there only once as a child. Even as a child, I thought it was fascinating, though it lacked maintenance and displays. Last week I visited the place again.
I was genuinely surprised at the many gadgets and displays they had and had lots of fun trying out each display. The architecture of the building itself was interesting (and very forward considering its age). I mean, seriously? A double-helix staircase? If that doesn't spell out awesomeness in a science center I don't know what does. Furthermore, the displays were interactive, which made it even better. 
Then, isn't it a waste that such a place isn't maintained very well?
A few of the displays had instructions that were taped, some others had pieces of paper from former events taped to it. The upper floors were largely unused and the library was empty (?). The pool on the first floor was also dry, with pieces of trash here and there. The sunroof needed cleaning, there was sludge filtering most of the light that came in. The disabled access was dark and many parts of it had broken tiles.
Considering how much fun people can have in there, wouldn't it be great if it were fixed up properly? Can you imagine if the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History had broken tiles and half-empty rooms?
People marvel at museums. This museum has the capability to impress anyone with its grandly suited architecture and interactive display. I think it's great that a lot of effort was put into creating the display, however, if only certain areas are maintained, then it would be a waste of perfectly good space. With such an awesome building design and a good array of display, why not go all out and revamp the details?
So much potential, so little used.
