You CAN come home again!
              
Home for the holidays and nostalgic about living in the Youngstown area? The holiday season is a great time to consider return migration!

Join us for the first annual Y-Town Tech Tour on Monday December 26 to hear why everyone is talking about Youngstown and learn more about Youngstown's reputation for technology development and the emerging science, engineering, and technology career opportunities in the region.

This free networking event is designed to offer visitors insight into the exciting changes occurring in the Youngstown area, and available support for both new businesses and established technology professionals considering relocation.

Guests can :

Representatives from YSU, YBI, OH WOW!, and the Youngstown, Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity will be on hand to discuss entrepreneurial and career opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in and around the Youngstown area.  

 

For reservations for the December 26 Y-Town Tech Tour at the Youngstown Business Incubator, please contact Rose Shaffer at Rshaffer@ybi.org.

 

For guests who are not available on December 26th, YBI will be conducting tours throughout the holiday season.  Please contact Rshaffer@ybi.org to schedule an appointment.  

Sponsored by:
The Youngstown Business Incubator
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity
and
OH WOW! The Roger + Gloria Jones Children's Center for Science & Technology

OH WOW! is proud to announce that we will be selling badges for First Night Youngstown. With each button purchase, you receive vouchers worth a total of $43!

 

Buttons are $10 each for both children and adults. Keep an eye on this blog for more updates as the schedule for First Night becomes available!

This holiday season, give a gift that will inspire, thrill, and educate... and provide tons more fun than a boring sweater with matching socks! OH WOW! gift certificates, memberships, and souvenirs are now available. And we're open every day from Black Friday to Christmas Eve, so come on down and get some shopping done!

 

OH WOW! Holiday Gifts

OH WOW! will be taking part in the Youngstown Holiday Parade & Festival downtown on December 3, 2011. We will have a special admission price of $5.00 per person, and will be open from 10am to 7pm.

 

Other exciting things at the event include a 3pm parade, lighting of the Christmas tree, pictures with Santa, and caroling and other entertainment.

 

Download the Poster for more information!

 

Holiday Parade Poster

As you may recall, First National Bank donated an operational ATM exhibit to OH WOW! Instead of cash, this ATM gives children a coupon that can be filled out and handed in at the front desk to enter into a drawing. The winner of the drawing will receive a prize from First National Bank!

We will have the drawing for the September winner on Thursday, October 27th, at 10 a.m. We will have the drawing for the October winner on Thursday, November 3rd, at 10 a.m. Subsequent drawings will be scheduled monthly.

From 3pm to 6pm on Thursday, October 27, admission to OH WOW! will be free in honor of RON, our new skeleton exhibit. RON stands for Remote Operations in Nursing and he is brought to us through the sponsorship of NEO Health Force and Eastern Ohio AHEC. Children are encouraged to dress in costume as health care professionals!

Also on October 27, we will have a Chevy Volt on display, courtesy of Sweeney Chevrolet!  This cutting edge electric car will be gone by the weekend, so make sure you come see it Thursday or Friday!

Sunday, October 16, is YSU Alumni Night at OH WOW! The event is from 5pm to 7pm. Proud YSU alums are invited to share their belief in education with the children in their lives! Penguins of all ages will have fun exploring the hands-on interactive exhibits. Browse the museum at your leisure and plan to enjoy a buffet dinner that's sure to please the whole family.

 

The cost is $10 per person. Children age two and under are free. Contact Heather Belgin at (330) 941-1591 or habelgin@ysu.edu for more information.

This weekend, OH WOW! is debuting a new ATM exhibit courtesy of First National Bank. Not only that, but admission will be free for OH WOW! guests Saturday, September 3, and Sunday, September 4, again thanks to First National Bank.

For more details, check out First National Bank's website. Hope to see you downtown!

OH WOW! The Roger and Gloria Jones Children's Center for Science and Technology is proud to present our first fundraising event. We invite you to join us at "Silly Science in September" on Sunday, September 25, from 2-5pm. West Federal Street in front of OH WOW! will be awash in exciting, HANDS-ON science activities and will feature a 4pm performance by Hey Kid!, the most popular local children's music group.

In addition to full access to OH WOW!, we will have five additional themed science tents on the street. All tents will have a unique theme that supports our STEM mission.

For more information, you can contact our development manager. You can also download a ticket order form from our contact page.

This morning OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children's Center for Science & Technology opened its doors to the public. Thank you to everyone who came together to make this dream for our community a reality! For all the details, on visiting OH WOW!, the information can be found HERE.

Suzanne Barbati, executive director of OH WOW!  The Roger and Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology, has announced that the official opening date for the center will be May 12, 2011.  “Construction is ahead of schedule and our first exhibits will be delivered on December 21 so we are right on target,” she stated. 

The capital campaign, too, is right on schedule, this according to Bruce Sherman, chairman of the “Science Makes Cents” campaign.  He said that the Phase I goal of $1.5 million was achieved in November, allowing construction to begin.  Phase II is now underway with a goal of raising $275,000.  “The support of businesses, foundations and individuals of the community has been overwhelming, but we still have a way to go,” remarked Sherman, citing that naming rights and sponsorships remain available.

On Friday morning, checks were presented to the Center in the amount of $25,000 from The Rotary Club of Youngstown; $30,000 from Fireline Corporation; and $10,000 from Dominion.  Ronald Faniro, the Center’s board president, also accepted a check in the amount of $7.00 from Liam and Kelsey Manley of Boardman, Ohio.  The siblings raised the money by selling lemonade at their homemade stand.

The Center’s bright and modern main entrance awning and logo is now in place.

This coming February, OH WOW! will launch an eight-week competition that will be open to all families in the 5-county area.  “It will involve solving clues, social media, and there will be an ever-growing list of prizes,” said Suzanne Barbati.  “The only hint I can give to you right now is the phrase – ‘Where’s Wowzer?’”  Details will be posted on the Center’s website very soon.

The focus of  “OH WOW!” is providing hands-on, interactive experiences for children ages 0 thru 14 with accompanying opportunities for learners of all ages.  The Center expects to have a regional impact, drawing between 25- to 30-thousand visitors in the first year from across the tri-state area.