Keep Sci-Tech Open

As you may or may not know, our beloved Sci-Tech museum has recently been damaged due to recent flooding. This museum has been a source of education and wonder for our community for many years and now it needs our help to rebuild.

We are writing to ask for your support in the form of a donation to help restore the museum. Your donation will help to restore the location, replace and update damaged exhibits and equipment, as well as the cost of any repairs. Our goal is to bring back educational and fun experiences to our community.

Your donation will go towards the purchase of new exhibits and equipment, as well as the cost of repairs. Any amount you can give is greatly appreciated.

On January 5, 2023, Sci-Tech discovered up to 3 feet of water filling the basement

of its museum facility in Downtown Watertown. Apparently, at some point during the previous 24 hours, while the building was unoccupied, a valve on the fire suppression system had burst. This had allowed about a 1-inch stream of high-pressure water to infiltrate the basement. The valve was one of 2 just inside the basement wall, where the 4-inch pipe enters the building. The reason for the break is not known. The fire suppression system had undergone its annual inspection less than 2 months earlier.

Unfortunately, the basement is Sci-Tech's primary storage area, as well as the location for

numerous building systems. Thus, not only were the heating system, electrical system, and phone/internet system damaged but hundreds of artifacts, records, exhibit components, materials and supplies were also damaged or destroyed. Some of the damage is easily apparent, but some will not be fully known until much later. For example, the high-efficiency boiler was partly underwater, but until electricity can be restored, the extent of damage to it will remain unknown.

The most devastating mechanical problem is the building's electrical system. An

the electrical inspection determined that our entire switchgear needs to be replaced.

Thank you in advance for your generosity. Your donation will help to ensure that our science museum remains a source of knowledge and entertainment for our community.