Visitor Education Center Hits Record

Temperatures were not the only record highs for March 2012. Did you visit us at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center this month? If so, you helped make history – our Visitor Education Center saw a record number – 2,780 students in March, the most since the center opened in 2005. That’s about 1,200 more visitors this month than in March of last year.

The record number was due in part to transportation grants awarded to 100 schools across the state. The grants, worth up to $400, were awarded to Ohio schools that might not otherwise get to visit the Supreme Court due to budget constraints in their districts. The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center Foundation donated $30,000 to the Visitor Education Center last fall specifically to fund the transportation grants.

One teacher from Andrew J. Rickoff Elementary School in Cleveland said most of her students are unable to leave the city and said she was extremely grateful for the opportunity to visit the center thanks to the transportation grants.

“As an urban educator, I never know how an experience will affect my students. However, I do know that by finding opportunities and providing them with many experiences allow them to have wide variety of back ground knowledge that doesn’t come out of a book,” Martha Verde said.

The Visitor Education Center is a dynamic teaching tool offering students grades 4th and above and inside look at Ohio Courts. There are interactive exhibits that portray the workings and history of the judicial system with hands-on materials and engaging exhibits and videos.

The Visitor Education Center is located on the Ground Floor of the Moyer Judicial Center in downtown Columbus. Visitors are welcome Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations for groups of eight or more are required and school tours typically last 90 minutes. You can call 614.387.9223 or e-mail courttours@sc.ohio.gov to schedule a tour.