Launch Pad Center Propels Kids on Learning Mission

When Nathan Yetz, 8, palmed an electrostatic generator at the Launch Pad science and education center Friday, his hair stood straight up, sparking enthusiasm from his peers in the auditorium.

“It feels like when you rub a balloon in your hair,” Nathan said, his friends from the Crystal Court day camp laughing in the background.

Instructor P.J. Agnew, 29, an aspiring actor who calls his teaching sessions “performances,” used children in each example of how electricity works.

He inserted the boring but necessary textbook stuff at just the right time so kids wouldn’t miss the lesson behind the fun.

“The kids have fun, and they don’t know they’re learning,” center spokeswoman Melissa V. Centeno said.

That’s the goal behind the Launch Pad, a preview of the upcoming Discovery Science Center, a nonprofit complex slated to open in 1998 near MainPlace/Santa Ana.

It was clear after an afternoon of fun and learning Friday that electrons were not the only things excited in the room.

“This place is really cool,” said Jared Sambrano, 8, part of a group that made its way to the center from a summer camp for children of UC Irvine graduate students. “It’s cool because there’s electricity and science.”

Niki Wenzara, 10, placed an inflatable globe over a rushing air machine, and the ball floated before her eyes.

“Gravity from the Earth, I guess, is pulling it,” she said, understanding the lesson.

The Launch Pad, at 3333 Bear St. in Crystal Court, is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Information: (714) 546-2061.