NYPA TO OPEN NEW VISITOR CENTER IN UTICA ON MONDAY
The interior of the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) NY Energy Zone visitor center in Utica. The center focuses on the past, present, and future of energy in New York. (Photo credit: NYPA flickr)
UTICA, N.Y. — The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has announced its newly constructed NY Energy Zone visitor center in Utica.
It’s an admission-free facility that provides an “immersive, interactive, state-of-the-art museum experience” focused on the past, present and future of energy in New York State, NYPA contends in a release.
Beginning Monday, the facility will be open for small guided tours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, following New York State indoor family-entertainment center guidelines for COVID.
The 15,000-square-foot facility includes exhibits that simulate flying a drone to check power transmission lines, controlling electricity on a model energy grid, operating a simulated power plant, and building a table-top micro power grid, along with other activities designed to teach visitors about energy and electricity in New York.
Visitors can also see “Imagination!” — the first movie of its kind utilizing 3-D MAGI film generation by famed cinematographer and director Douglas Trumbull. He is known for his visual-effects photography in the films 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Blade Runner (1982). The 3-D movie seeks to inform viewers about Nikola Tesla and his “lasting contributions” to the electricity system of today.
NYPA has added a reservation system that allows for scheduling limited, 60-minute guided tours. To reserve a tour, you can also call (315) 792-8720 or email EnergyZone@nypa.gov.
The visitors center, which is affiliated with the Power Authority’s Frederick R. Clark Energy Center — the hub of its statewide power transmission control center located in Marcy — was dedicated to former NYPA Chairman John Dyson at a naming ceremony held April 23.