City News

The Saban Center, a first-of-its-kind campus seamlessly merging STEM and the arts, is proud to announce a partnership with the Alabama Water Institute (AWI) at The University of Alabama to enhance water literacy and education in Alabama through an innovative “Science On a Sphere” exhibit.

Through a robust projection system and touchscreen navigation, Science On a Sphere displays visualizations of planetary data, such as hurricanes and ocean temperatures, on a large diameter sphere to explain environmental and earth system processes engagingly and captivatingly. 

“It is an honor to partner with AWI to bring this exciting technology to the Saban Center,” said Audrey Buck, director of the Saban Center. “The ability for students and teachers to be able to interact with this data in such an innovative way perfectly aligns with our mission to offer an immersive, state-of-the art STEM learning experience.” 

The Alabama Water Institute will loan the technology to the Saban Center and help to develop its curriculum. Science On a Sphere is developed by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which recently established a strategic partnership with the Saban Center to enhance water literacy and promote STEM education across the state.

“Science On a Sphere allows for hundreds of environmental data sets to be brought to life and used to develop STEM courses,” said Edward Clark, director of NOAA’s National Water Center. “There’s a much-needed ‘wow factor,’ with people seeing it on a globe and understanding the connectedness of earth and water issues in Alabama and around the world.” 

“When you think about the confluence of water activities at UA, including a one-of-a-kind federal and academic research enterprise, the ability to now collaborate with an entity like the Saban Center on educational activities and have Science On a Sphere be a centerpiece – it’s exciting,” said Matt Womble, executive director of the Alabama Water Institute. “Thank you to UA alumni Mark and Ann Hickman who made a generous gift to the University to help make Science on a Sphere possible.”

The Hickmans passionately support community education programs throughout West Alabama, such as the Children’s Hands-On Museum and Tuscaloosa Children’s Theatre. 

Ann, who taught kindergarten for 25 years and helped train pre-service teachers, said the visual and interactive components of Science On a Sphere will be transformative for modern learners. 

“Ann and I believe wholeheartedly that early childhood education and the stimulation and learning at younger ages are the building blocks for creating young adults who are intelligent and can contribute to the community, city and the world,” Mark said. 

ABOUT SABAN CENTER 
The Saban Center is an interactive campus that includes the Tuscaloosa Children’s Theatre, the Children’s Hands-On Museum (which will be reimagined as Ignite) and the State of Alabama STEM Hub. It’s where arts, education, discovery and innovation come together to prepare the workforce of the future. sabancenter.org

ABOUT THE ALABAMA WATER INSTITUTE
The Alabama Water Institute (AWI) is one of The University of Alabama’s five research institutes. AWI acts as a forum for interdisciplinary research and education by bringing together university researchers, students and staff to foster collaboration and a broad interdisciplinary focus on water issues that face our world today. AWI-affiliated researchers specialize in hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, water security and quality, remote sensing, biodiversity and watershed management and human health through synergies with AWI research programs, including the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology, the Global Water Security Center and the CONSERVE Research Group.