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Those individuals include trailblazing councilwoman Jackie Townsell and businessman John W. Carpenter. Through them, the museum strives to show how Irving has become the place it is today — a diverse town of innovation and entrepreneurship. “We’re here to show that innovation isn’t always an ‘aha!’ moment,” Hawkins says. “It’s work. It’s trial and error. But it’s fun.” The Spark!Lab will be an integral part of telling that story. Like the lab in D.C., the museum will engage patrons with activities designed to get them thinking about how their city was formed and how they can create opportunity. For example, one activity asks participants to build a structure using the tools of the time. As time advances, so do the materials they have at their disposal.
“We’re highlighting individuals who had big ideas, the will to act on them and how those ideas shaped the city.” “It’s all about the evolution of our city,” Hawkins says. “We’re asking questions like, ‘How did we get here? How did we become an international city, a headquarters of headquarters?’ ” The lab also includes a Build-a-Vehicle activity. Visitors assume the role of farmer and must build a vehicle that will get their crops to market. Irving’s Spark!Lab was carefully engineered to walk patrons of all ages through the journey that made the city what it is today. But Hawkins knows the work is far from over, and that makes the Spark!Lab all the more important. “History is a process that we gather every day and are making every day,” he says. “We’re empowering individuals to change their lives and their city, and in doing so, change the world.” Irvingartscenter.com/museums-and-archives/ SURVEYOR | 23