A portion of the much-loved Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center, is re-opening. The new  Power of Play (POP) area of Sci-Port, located on the second floor, is opening to the public beginning Friday, March 2 at 9 am. POP will be open Thurs.- Sat., 9 am- 5 pm and Sundays noon-5 pm, each week.

POP is designed for children 8 and under only, with parent supervision/interaction required.

IMAX will open to members on April 6 and to the public on April 7. Hours will be announced in the coming weeks. The first IMAX film will be the newly-released film, “Pandas”.

Existing memberships from members in good standing as of 9/1/17 will be honored with proof of membership There is a school group discount for more than 50 people. Reservations for groups may be made at reservations@sciport.org.

Board Chairman Rich Lamb says the board has been working diligently to reopen the Science Center. “We had hoped to open at least POP and IMAX before this, but discovered additional issues that required our attention. We are working on a plan to reopen the rest of the Science Center, which we’ll announce as soon as finalized. In the interim we hope people will support our employees and Sci-Port by coming to POP and IMAX.”

The public will be invited to write “Why We Love Sci-Port” on the construction wall in the lobby. There will also be a donation box available to accept donations for the benefit of Sci-Port.

Eloise Palmer is a member who grew up going to Sci-Port, and now her children go, too. “As a teacher, I appreciate the educational mission of Sci-Port. It was fun for me to go as a child and now my children are going. The reason I support Sci-Port is that I want it to be there for future generations, too,” she said.

Board member Jennifer Pou said, “Sci-Port Discovery Center is too important to lose. It’s an icon on the Shreveport riverfront, drawing visitors from across the country and providing educational resources and entertainment for the Ark-La-Tex residents. The Board is working hard to resolve past issues and move forward with a plan to reopen all of Sci-Port so the center will continue to educate and entertain for years to come.”

Lamb indicated that a number of individuals and community organizations, including the Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation, have come forward to help support the organization while it works toward re-opening.

“We particularly want to thank our employees, members and donors for their patience as we take the first step toward reopening the entire facility,” Lamb added.

For more information, check Sci-Port Discovery Center’s Facebook page for updates.