Got this in an email. Thought I'd pass it along. Keep in mind they may have very high initial bid requirements for their exhibits, but I thought it was cool anyway.
***
By TOM SABULIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/31/04
Did Santa forget to bring you that experimental glider? That 40-foot
replica of the Eiffel Tower? That virtual-reality ice hockey machine?
Save the date then: Jan. 15.
That's when SciTrek, the defunct science and technology museum, is
holding a liquidation sale to sell off about $5 million worth of
exhibits, equipment, tools, souvenirs and educational supplies.
Other items on the auction block: a collection of antique telephones;
an expansive train set; a dozen or so 32-inch television sets;
computer and lighting equipment; forklifts; and various hands-on
explanations of physics, chemistry, electricity and magnetics.
SciTrek's biggest component - the 5,300 square-foot Challenger
Learning Center - is not part of the sale. The interactive, NASA-
sponsored exhibit, which cost the museum $1.7 million to buy and
install, is reportedly headed to the Fernbank Science Center.
"We're working hard to bring it here," said Mac Sudduth, director of
the Fernbank Science Center. SciTrek officials would not comment on
the deal.
The proceeds from the auction will go to pay museum debts, said John
Coleman, SciTrek's chief financial officer. He declined to comment on
how much money SciTrek owes. A successful sale should give the museum
a clean slate and even a small surplus, he said.
Long plagued by funding shortfalls, poor attendance and outdated
exhibits, SciTrek, which operated in an old city-owned building,
finally closed its doors in August. Its board of directors remains
intact, however. And co-chairman Alan Neely said plans are in the
works to relaunch SciTrek's science-education mission in another
location, but without the old museum gadgetry. Possible landing spots
include the Atlanta suburbs and Valdosta State University.
Although the city gave SciTrek until the spring to vacate its site at
397 Piedmont Ave., adjacent to the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic
Center, Coleman said the sale is being held next month because the
institution's insurance expires Jan. 31.
The auction is being organized by Red Baron Antiques, which gets 15
percent of the sales, said Paul Brown, a co-owner of the company. The
sale, which is open to the public, runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at
SciTrek. A preview party will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 14.
"We're inviting everybody to come," Coleman said. "And bring their
checkbooks."
***
By TOM SABULIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/31/04
Did Santa forget to bring you that experimental glider? That 40-foot
replica of the Eiffel Tower? That virtual-reality ice hockey machine?
Save the date then: Jan. 15.
That's when SciTrek, the defunct science and technology museum, is
holding a liquidation sale to sell off about $5 million worth of
exhibits, equipment, tools, souvenirs and educational supplies.
Other items on the auction block: a collection of antique telephones;
an expansive train set; a dozen or so 32-inch television sets;
computer and lighting equipment; forklifts; and various hands-on
explanations of physics, chemistry, electricity and magnetics.
SciTrek's biggest component - the 5,300 square-foot Challenger
Learning Center - is not part of the sale. The interactive, NASA-
sponsored exhibit, which cost the museum $1.7 million to buy and
install, is reportedly headed to the Fernbank Science Center.
"We're working hard to bring it here," said Mac Sudduth, director of
the Fernbank Science Center. SciTrek officials would not comment on
the deal.
The proceeds from the auction will go to pay museum debts, said John
Coleman, SciTrek's chief financial officer. He declined to comment on
how much money SciTrek owes. A successful sale should give the museum
a clean slate and even a small surplus, he said.
Long plagued by funding shortfalls, poor attendance and outdated
exhibits, SciTrek, which operated in an old city-owned building,
finally closed its doors in August. Its board of directors remains
intact, however. And co-chairman Alan Neely said plans are in the
works to relaunch SciTrek's science-education mission in another
location, but without the old museum gadgetry. Possible landing spots
include the Atlanta suburbs and Valdosta State University.
Although the city gave SciTrek until the spring to vacate its site at
397 Piedmont Ave., adjacent to the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic
Center, Coleman said the sale is being held next month because the
institution's insurance expires Jan. 31.
The auction is being organized by Red Baron Antiques, which gets 15
percent of the sales, said Paul Brown, a co-owner of the company. The
sale, which is open to the public, runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at
SciTrek. A preview party will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 14.
"We're inviting everybody to come," Coleman said. "And bring their
checkbooks."
