The Imperial Centre in downtown Rocky Mount is a true one of a kind building with an amazing art & science experience for kids and adults. Great rainy day option to keep the kids entertained and try something new.
The Building
One of the most striking parts about this museum is the building. Eastern NC has quite a few old industrial complexes through out the area that have long since been out of commission. This one found new life through the town of Rocky Mount’s vision to create an art gallery and a science museum. Rather than demolish the building, the designers took the existing structures and turned them into amazing focal points throughout the space. It was a little confusing identifying the front door when we came. Follow the large metal framework to the front door for the simplest path.
My favorite part of the whole structure is the smoke stack in the main foyer area that commands the space. As someone that works in manufacturing, I love seeing these types of touches. If you like the post-industrial look, I recommend also checking out the Rocky Mount Mills for lunch/dinner (Full article to come).
Art and Science?
Believe it or not, they did cram both art exhibits and a science museum with a planetarium into the same building. However, you could have fooled me. We spent our entire time just checking out the science area with Madilyn (We plan to go back so we can check out the art next. Link HERE when we do). There is plenty of space in this building for both of these and probably more. My advice is to pick one to come see at a time so you do not feel rushed.
Admission covers all of the planetarium shows and entrance into all of these exhibits. You can easily spend a whole day here if not more. We came on a rainy cold Saturday and were surprised how few people were in the building. Our best guess is that the word has not gotten out about this place. If you are looking at the Marbles Kids Museum, consider the road less traveled and check The Imperial Centre of Rocky Mount
Welcome to the Science Museum
This was a really great science museum for families. Kaitlyn and I love checking out all kinds of goofy museums but were really blown away by some of the features available. Near the entrance to this part of the building there was an area for very small kids to play. No one was using it but this was a great touch for big families. There was also a series of tubes on a wall that must have had an over powered leaf blower hooked up to it. Place the fuzzy balls in the port and watch it race around. Then, it shoots out one of the many exits. Madilyn loved playing with the diverters that causes the ball to change path
Anyone Can Animate!
The main area focused on stop action animation. One activity station provided kids with a simple back drop, 2D shapes & characters with an overhead camera. Some very intuitive buttons allow anyone to snap sequential shots to make your own little movie. Madilyn was more interested in just pressing buttons but we still thought it was fun.
Another area had an animation sequence already put together and provided you with a series of instruments to make sounds to overlay the animation with. The screen prompted you to do certain ones at certain times but you can do them in any order you feel. Play the door bell when people are flying through the sky if you choose. Use the xylophone when they walk up the stairs. Then it played it back to you. Clearly this activity was made by a parent because they encased it in semi sound proof walls so all the other people in area do not have to be unwilling participants. The whole area was tied together using the same animated characters and fun approach. And this was just the front area
The Animal Gallery
The back animal gallery has a mix of live animals and life sized figurines. All the good fun you might expect from animal exhibits and some hidden extras. One or two of the figurines are actually animatronics and will move when you lift a flap or press a certain button. Madilyn was not very interested in this section since we had just gone to a zoo the day before. However, it was put together thoughtfully.
The Planetarium
The planetarium is a dome projector that projects up onto a large domed screen above your head similar to a movie projector. We Checked out the Sesame street Show on Saturday and enjoyed it. My one complaint about our visit was the bulb in the planetarium projector needed to be replaced badly or the brightness of the projector adjusted. We had a hard time seeing the show at times. That being said, we still enjoyed the show and this is a simple fix. The show did a nice job explaining some complex astrological concepts to kids. Simple stuff like how to find the North Star.
Overall
Great place to bring the kids, or have a goofy adventure for a date night. If you are thinking about Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, consider the path less traveled and check out the Imperial Centre in Rocky. We continue to be surprised amazing little excursions in Eastern NC.
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