CLEVELAND — The William G. Mather steamship is now 100 years old.
The Great Lakes Science Center celebrated the steamship with a party on Saturday afternoon. Guests munched on cupcakes and signed a birthday card in honor of the centenarian ship, which is currently docked outside the Great Lakes Science Center.
The celebrations aren't stopping there. The Great Lakes Science Center has just opened a new exhibit: Steam and Steel Propelling the Future of the Great Lakes. It celebrates the history of the steamship and the innovations it brought to the shipping industry.
Interactive exhibits teach families what life was like aboard the ship. Kids can shovel coal into the furnace, steer a ship or learn the different signals used by captains.
The Great Lakes Science Center hopes the history of the Mather will set a spark in the next generation of innovators.
"Our goal is to make STEM come alive for them," William Katzman, Vice President of Exhibits with the Great Lakes Science Center, said. "Kids, adults, we want to activate that inner scientist or engineer because the kids today will be the innovators of tomorrow."
Steam and Steel: Propelling the Future of the Great Lakes is open now until Sept. 1. Starting June 1, tours of the William G. Mather will be available six days a week.
