Guests can fly a drone, ride in a driverless vehicle, code robots and 3D print all summer long

Tampa, Fla. July 16, 2015

Drone Zone is now open inside MOSIs Kids In Charge! building. The Drone Zone allows guests to get hands-on training while learning about the future of this innovative, yet controversial, technology. Experience how a drone functions while submerged in water, program one to perform exciting tricks and maneuvers, or fly a drone that is smaller than the palm of your hand.

Thanks to a partnership with Turin Aviation Group, MOSI also will display several examples of drone evolution from WWI to modern day. This collection includes a WWI Biplane that secretly video-monitored parts of Europe, a prototype drone created for Google X to deliver disaster relief materials to remote locations and examples of high-tech, camera-ready drones in use today.

The Drone Zone features waterproof drones, called Spheros, which are controlled by an iPad and maneuvered through a simulated off-world terrain, and propeller-controlled drones that can uncover the mysteries of the deep sea. Guests can also conquer missions and earn points by maneuvering an Ollie through a controlled obstacle course, jumping over ramps, programming it to do tricks, or watch it change colors and respond to its environment.

"There is often a fear surrounding new technologies like autonomous vehicles and drones," said Molly Demeulenaere, President and CEO of MOSI. "MOSI empowers people to embrace their curiosity regarding these new technologies in a safe and protective environment. These are important conversations happening within the family unit here at MOSI that may not happen in more formal settings."

Included with MOSI general admission and free for MOSI members, the Drone Zone is part of the newest experience titled Innovate, which includes the Meridian Shuttle, an intelligent vehicle that is a 100 percent driverless and electric shuttle; Idea Zone, MOSIs inventors studio, where guests will be able to code a variety of motion-interfacing robots and to navigate mazes; and 3D Printing the Future, which illustrates 3D printing's boundless and mind-blowing potential to re-shape how we live, work and play. General admission includes more than 450 hands-on exhibits and one film in the Florida Hospital IMAX® DOME Theatre.

MOSI is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. General Admission is $22.95 for adults, $20.95 for seniors (60+), $18.95 for children (3-12), and children 2 and under are free. Innovate is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture, and the State of Florida.