Our program featured Lin Erickson who serves as Executive Director and CEO of the Da Vinci Science Center. Lin Erickson has been the Da Vinci Science Center’s Executive Director and CEO since March 2013 after serving as its Executive Director previously from 1997-2005. She has a long history with Rotary going back to high school when she traveled to Washington DC on a Rotary-sponsored trip. Years later, her daughter was a summer Youth Exchange student in France.
The Da Vinci Center promotes curiosity, creativity, and the qualities of greatness that have been embodied by Leonardo da Vinci. The STEAM-based exhibits (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) are designed for younger students and the current Cedar Crest College location sees 150,000 visitors each year. School groups account for 24,000 visitors each year and there have been 7 US patents earned by students in the Young Inventors Program.
The new edition of the Center will be much larger and will also feature exhibits designed for teens and adults. Construction began in the summer of 2022 on the $73 million project that is expected to open in Spring 2024. The center will be located at 8th and Hamilton Streets in Allentown in what will be known as the PPL Pavilion. Exhibit experiences will include Curiosity Hall to introduce visitors to Leonardo Da Vinci through digital storytelling; Science in the Making to help visitors engage in exploring scientific principles; Lehigh River Watershed starring river otters as visitors explore the flora and fauna of the Lehigh Valley; and the Lehigh Valley Health Network My Body exhibit which will provide an immersive human body experience. The Center’s Access for All discount admission program enables access for low-income families.
Thanks to strong public and private support the Da Vinci Science Center at PPL Pavilion will soon become an iconic regional destination in the heart of downtown Allentown.