To help make a new COSI Columbus exhibit as realistic as possible, Edgar Escobar recently rode an all-terrain vehicle through the mountains of West Virginia. During his ride, the Honda associate brought along six GoPro cameras. The result is a 360-degree film of his trip that plays out in front of visitors "riding" an ATV in "Meet The Innovators," an exhibit that opened last Sunday.

To help make a new COSI Columbus exhibit as realistic as possible, Edgar Escobar recently rode an all-terrain vehicle through the mountains of West Virginia.

During his ride, the Honda associate brought along six GoPro cameras.

The result is a 360-degree film of his trip that plays out in front of visitors �riding� an ATV in �Meet The Innovators,� an exhibit that opened last Sunday.

�We didn�t want it to be a computer-generated video,� said Escobar, a test engineer in the company�s powersports division. �I took it to where we do our real-world testing.�

Escobar�s escapade was typical of the effort that various Honda associates put into the exhibit, which is designed to expose young people to possible STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) careers.

Since 1982, Honda of America has been churning out automobiles and employing thousands at plants in Ohio, first in Marysville, then in East Liberty.

Last year, Frank Paluch, president of Honda Research & Development, joined the board at COSI. The idea for �Meet The Innovators� came out of conversations between Paluch and COSI president David Chesebrough.

�We�re trying to inspire the future generation of innovators,� Paluch said. �We want to show them that it�s not about just creating a product that people want to buy but about using technology to change and improve society.�

Teams of Honda associates worked on each of the five themes of the exhibit, which will be at COSI indefinitely. They are:

� Styling: By covering the process used to design vehicles, visitors can sketch their own designs.

� Power train: Cutaways of an engine and transmission help explain their function. Visitors can turn a crank on the engine and watch the pistons move.

� Aerodynamics: A miniature wind tunnel helps show how air moves over a vehicle. Fog helps visitors see that happen.

� Crash testing: A Honda Pilot is stripped of its body to show the layers of different types of steel used to ensure a rider�s safety. Adjacent to the vehicle sits a crash-test simulator that visitors can sit in and experience.

� Suspension: This is the area Escobar worked on, with the ATV and simulated ride.

�The Honda associates were so passionate about what they do, you could tell how invested they were in it (creating the exhibit),� said John Shaw, director of experience production at COSI.

The exhibit also features videos of the Honda associates discussing their careers. The idea, Paluch and Shaw both said, is to make these careers sound attractive to middle- and high-school students.

�There�s this mystery between education and what we actually do in our day-to-day experiences in our careers,� Paluch said. �With this experiential, hands-on exhibit, we should be able to bridge that gap.�

kgordon@dispatch.com

@kgdispatch