Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Ed Komara, who runs Komara Outdoors, introduces Nash Custead, 2, left, and older brother, Lane Custead, 6, of Meadville, Pa., to a giant tortoise. Komara brought several s to a 15th birthday a bash Saturday at OH WOW! children’s center in downtown Youngstown. to celebrate the center’s 15 years in downtown Youngstown.

YOUNGSTOWN — Lane Custead had a few things to say upon being introduced to something with a rough exterior, but an easygoing and carefree attitude.

“Well, its skin is very thick, and it’s very big, really big,” Lane, 6, of Meadville, Pa., said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Lane and younger brother, Nash Custead, 2, were getting better acquainted with an Aldabra giant tortoise, the likes of which can live to be 150 years old and weigh up to 500 pounds.

The tortoises — along with an 8-year-old albino Burmese python — were among the attractions during a 15th birthday bash Saturday afternoon at OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology, 11 W. Federal St., downtown, to celebrate the center’s 15 years in the corridor.

The reptilian guests were courtesy of Ed Komara, who runs Komara Outdoors, a traveling animal exhibit that also includes snakes, lizards and an array of other creatures.

In keeping with a storied Youngstown State University sports tradition, Komara named the two tortoises he brought to the science center Pete and Penny after the Youngstown State University Penguins’ mascots.

For Lane and Nash, tortoises are nothing new, because their grandmother has four of the reptiles, said Lane, who came Saturday with the boys’ parents, Jonathan and Amy Custead.

Besides making his nonhuman friends accessible to those at the birthday bash, they also make appearances at a variety of special occasions such as pop-up displays as well as in schools, at parties and for photoshoots, Komara said.

“Opening this facility, in and of itself, was a huge achievement for this area. Everything is hands-on, and that sets us apart,” Katie DeToro, executive director, said.

The center, which opened in the former McCrory’s department store building, is dedicated to continuing to grow, in part by increasing its partnerships and outreach efforts. Those include being part of after-school and summer programs in the region, DeToro noted.

In addition, OH WOW!, which bought the building in which it’s housed in 2019, recently added two new exhibits. The facility also has partnered with library associations in six northeast Ohio counties, she said.

Youngstown is unique in the sense that no other city with its population and size has an interactive science and technology facility on par with OH WOW!, DeToro added.

Also making a guest appearance Saturday was the Youngstown Model Railroad Association, which was established in 1957 and moved to its current Austintown location in 1977.

“This is a way to outreach to the community and get people aware of model railroading,” Bruce Silvernail, YMRA’s treasurer, said, adding that the organization also was part of OH WOW’s last Silly Science Sunday event.

Association members brought a smaller, fold-up layout to fit in the space the group was given for the birthday festivities. The layout, which took about one hour each to assemble and fine-tune, featured three sets of tracks and train cars, along with a scattering of replicas of buildings, houses and landscape along and between the tracks.

The train cars run on direct-current and digital command control systems, which control their speed and allow them to make various sounds and whistles. The cars also can run and perform other functions with a certain smartphone app, Silvernail explained.

All of that was pleasing to sisters Carsyn and Conley McAtee, 7 and 9, respectively, of North Lima, who enjoyed Saturday’s birthday-themed and regular offerings, and who came with their mother, Carly McAtee.

Among other family-favorite activities were getting familiarized with a 3D printer and its capabilities, as well as taking advantage of a variety of art projects, Carly McAtee said.

Also enjoying a taste of artistic and scientific flair was Curtis Daniels, 9, of Austintown, who combined the two disciplines to create a catapult launcher with popsicle sticks, rubber bands, plastic silverware and colored puff balls.

“It’s very fun and enjoyable,” Curtis said as he experimented with his contraption. “I like science and like to see how things work.”

Having an equally uplifting time of it was Curtis’ younger brother, Kylin Robinson, 3, who sent several of the small balls airborne, with a touch of assistance from Ace Bacciar, OH WOW’s curiosity guide.

The family’s original Saturday plan was to visit the Akron Zoo, but a less-than-favorable weather prediction kept them closer to home — and brought them to the center, the boys’ mother, Antastasia Robinson, said.

Now that OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology has left its 15-year-old fun-filled and educational footprint in the Mahoning Valley, plans going forward include continuing to adapt to changes in technology, as well as supporting the downtown business community and the adapting needs of schools, DeToro said.

The center also has partnered with Museums for All, a national program that provides an opportunity for those who receive assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to enter with their Electronic Benefits Transfer card and a photo ID. Those on such assistance and with food insecurities will be able to visit for a drastically reduced admission price, she added.

The facility also sees visitors from beyond the Valley, including from Ashtabula, Canton, Akron, Cleveland and Erie, Pa., DeToro said.