Museum of Discovery and Science's "Eye of the Storm" teaches guests everything about hurricanes
FORT LAUDERDALE — The Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale opened its doors Saturday for the annual "Eye of the Storm" event.
It brought in about 5,000 guests, who were there to learn about hurricane science and preparedness on the first day of hurricane season.
"It's inspirational, it's immersive," said Eric Salna with the Florida International University Extreme Events Institute, one of the event's sponsors. "We're talking hurricane science, mitigation, and preparedness — those are the key takeaways."
Emergency managers and local agencies all mixed around and in between the museum exhibits. It's a chance to meet hurricane scientists and other experts, or even try to do a forecast in a mobile television studio.
"I thought it would be a good thing to bring my kids out and see how they prepare," said parent Lakesha Joesph.
Learning what to do now, or even learning how we study the storms, the "Eye of the Storm" covers it all.
"We're hoping we create some future meteorologists or even just informed citizens who know how to prepare for hurricane season," said Laura Chai, a communications lead with the NOAA Atlantic Lab, who was there with several instruments that are dropped into or even fly through storms.
It was a chance to get up close and personal with all those involved in hurricane forecasting and storm response in addition to all the museum has to offer.
"All of that put together makes everyone motivated to get ready for this hurricane season," Salna said.
"We live in Florida we seasoned through several hurricanes being prepped and ready is a big thing," said parent Imtiaz, who was there with his daughter who is not only learning about science but also learned a lot about storm preparedness from the event.