NYSCI’s Climate Week program in Queens offers hands-on exhibits and a Queens Climate Expo

# What happened

# Why it matters locally The expo also marked five years since Hurricane Ida flooded NYSCI. That storm forced more than one million gallons of water into the science center through overflowing sewage drains and led to a closure that lasted nearly a year. NYSCI is using its exhibits to connect that kind of lived experience to the mechanics behind extreme weather and urban vulnerability.

# What visitors experienced Visitors encountered several major exhibits that make systemic links concrete:

• CityWorks: Shows how city systems operate behind the scenes — water, sanitation, transportation, construction and energy — and lets people design cities and parks. The exhibit gives real-time feedback on how design choices affect energy use, drainage and carbon emissions. It also demonstrates how routine household actions can overload underground water passages during heavy rainfall.

• Interactive flood map: Allows visitors to see projected sea-level and high-tide impacts for NYC and Long Island under current climate projections, showing where coastal flooding risk rises in coming decades.

• Connected Worlds: A 14-foot-tall interactive installation that simulates four ecosystems (desert, river valley, jungle, swamplands). Visitors use hand gestures to influence plant growth and animal life, experiencing cause-and-effect relationships in water systems. The exhibit can run modes that model flooding and drought impacts.

• Design Lab: Hosted craft and maker activities tied to climate-related solutions and experiments for families and kids.

# Who built the exhibits NYSCI partners with city agencies and academic institutions, specifically naming the departments of environmental protection, sanitation, and parks and recreation. In-house designers and outside firms, including Design I/O for Connected Worlds, collaborate with scientists to ensure the exhibits model realistic environmental systems.

# What staff said about the approach

# How the exhibits teach practical tradeoffs

# Event framing and community connection

# What to expect next NYSCI continues to use its exhibits to support ongoing climate education and community engagement, leveraging partnerships and interactive design to help visitors link daily choices and urban planning decisions to climate vulnerability and resilience.