Page 18 - Leisure Living Magazine May 2017

Supreme Court’s Visitor Education Center
Continued from page 13
ticularly school kids on field trips, could learn about the important role of the judiciary as the third branch of government.
Just one year after we moved in, the Supreme Court of Ohio Visitor Education Center opened on the ground floor of this building. The 4,400 square-foot space consists of four distinct areas: the main gallery that focuses on Ohio’s courts; a smaller gallery that spotlights the art and archi- tecture of this building; a full-scale mock court- room; and a rotating exhibit space.
As its name suggests, the main gallery is the main draw. It contains a number of eye-popping exhibits, including a model 9-foot cannon, a bath- room sink and the back end of a late-model car protruding from a wall. The exhibits all review the basic facts of a case that made its way through the court system. Visitors are given a chance to decide how they would rule on the case before comparing their decision with the actual opinion.
For instance, the model cannon illustrates the case of Hugo Zacchini, the “human cannon ball,” whose act included getting shot out of a cannon into a net 200 feet away. When a Cleve- land television station broadcast his entire act on
the news without his permission, Hugo went to court, claiming that the station stole his thunder and owed him $25,000. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled in Hugo’s favor.
In another area of the gallery a small, mock courtroom gives students the chance to take a seat and play the role of judge, prosecutor, defendant or juror. The facts of a real case are provided at each seat. The case progresses to the Ohio Supreme Court, which is also presented as a mock courtroom for role playing.
Two videos supplement the information presented in the courtroom settings. “Myth v. Reality” challenges the misconceptions about courts that have been popularized in movies and television shows. And “A Day in the Life” takes viewers behind the scenes for a close-up look at the workings at the court. Other interactive exhibits and videos throughout the center further the story of Ohio’s courts.
Over its lifetime, the center has won several awards for its excellent design and creative dis- plays, including the top award from the Ohio Museum Association and another from the American Association for State and Local His- tory. And, since its opening, more than 150,000 students have passed through its doors.
When the visitor center opened, Tom Moyer hoped that it would help people learn “that the law touches their lives. It protects their freedoms and defines their responsibili- ties.” He wanted everyone who visited “to go away with some knowledge they didn’t have”
The Healey Kohler Design, Ohio Supreme Courts Visitor Education Center.
before.
I think his
hopes have been fully realized.
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