Fleet Science Center facts for kids
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| Established | 1973 |
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| Location | 1875 El Prado Drive, Balboa Park, San Diego, California 92101 |
| Public transit access | SDMTS  Buses: Local#7, Rapid#215,  Trolley: City College Stop, transfer to #7 |
The Fleet Science Center (once called the 'Reuben H. Fleet Science Center') is an exciting science museum and planetarium in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. You can find it at the east end of the El Prado Drive walkway, right next to the Bea Evenson Fountain.
It first opened in 1973. It was special because it was the first science museum to mix hands-on science exhibits with a planetarium and an IMAX Dome (OMNIMAX) theater. This idea was so good that many other big science museums around the world now follow the same plan!
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History of the Science Center
The museum is named after Reuben H. Fleet, a pioneer in aviation. He started the U.S. Air Mail service. His company, Consolidated Aircraft, was based in San Diego. They built famous planes used in World War II, like the B-24 Liberator and the PBY Catalina. Reuben Fleet and his family gave the first gift that helped create the Science Center.
The Planetarium's Beginnings
In the 1960s, a group called the San Diego Hall of Science wanted to build a new planetarium in Balboa Park. They also thought about adding a science hall next to it. A spot for the building was set aside in 1963.
The planetarium was designed with cool new ideas. It would show both large movies and traditional star shows. The huge dome, about 76 feet wide, was tilted 25 degrees. The audience would sit in rows facing outwards into the tilted dome. This made it feel like you were floating in space, looking forward, instead of just looking up. The creators also wanted to get rid of the big, dumbbell-shaped star projector often found in the middle of planetariums. This old design could block views and get in the way of movies.
The San Diego Hall of Science asked a company called Spitz Laboratories to create a new type of star projector. This new projector wouldn't block the view or interfere with movies. Spitz created a special "starball" that became the main part of the system. They called it a "Space Transit Simulator" (STS). This round star projector and other smaller planet projectors were low to the ground. They could project a very realistic sky for astronomy shows. All these parts, plus slide projectors and lights, were controlled by a computer.
Unlike regular planetariums that only show the sky from Earth, the STS could show the sky as it would look from far out in space. You could even "fly" the theater through space using a joystick! This showed how planets seem to move in the sky.
World's First IMAX Dome Theater
The Fleet Science Center is also home to the world’s first IMAX Dome Theater. This theater shows huge films on a giant dome screen. Besides planetarium shows, the museum's founders wanted to show large movies on the dome.
They talked to IMAX about using their big-screen film format. But the IMAX system at the time wasn't made for a curved, dome-shaped screen.
So, they changed the IMAX 65mm film system. They called this new version OMNIMAX. Special cameras used a fisheye lens to capture a very wide view, but the image on the film looked distorted. When this film was projected onto the dome using another fisheye lens, the distortion was fixed. This made the original wide view appear, filling almost your entire vision. It felt like you were right there in the scene! (IMAX now calls this system "IMAX Dome," but some theaters still use the old OMNIMAX name.)
The theater opened in 1973 as the "Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center." It showed two features: Voyage to the Outer Planets (a mix of planetarium show and OMNIMAX film) and the OMNIMAX film Garden Isle.
The Science Center's Impact
The Fleet Science Center didn't just set a new standard for planetariums. It also led the way for modern science museums. Following the example of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, which opened four years earlier, all exhibits at the Fleet had to be interactive. This meant visitors could touch, move, or play with something. This combination of a planetarium, an IMAX Dome theater, and hands-on science exhibits is now common in most major science museums.
Recent Changes and Updates
By the late 1990s, the science center felt a bit small and old compared to newer museums. In 1998, it was expanded and updated. They added things like the Virtual Zone, which offered virtual rides with a science theme. The science exhibits became much bigger than the planetarium/theater. So, the name was changed to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. In late 2016, it was renamed simply the Fleet Science Center.
The old Space Transit Simulator (STS) was used for many years. It was replaced by a digital system in 2001. The building is also known for being very good at saving energy.
Heikoff Dome Theater Upgrades
In 2012, the theater was renamed the Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Dome Theater. This happened after a big donation from the Irwin Jacobs family for a major update. The planetarium system was improved again. It now uses two advanced systems, each with two 4K video projectors.
The renovation also included improving the dome's screen. It got the world's first "NanoSeam Dome screen" in an IMAX Theater. This new system is used for both live planetarium shows and digital movies. However, IMAX Dome movies are still shown using the original film projector and fisheye lens.
Around the same time, the center started making its own science videos. These videos are specially designed to be shown on the dome screen. In 2021, the Fleet Science Center received a grant from Pfizer. This money helped them create programs about COVID-19 vaccines.
What You Can See at the Museum
Your daily ticket to the Fleet Science Center includes all the exhibits, galleries, and a show in the Heikoff Dome Theater. There are over 100 hands-on science exhibits across 8 galleries. You can also see special traveling exhibitions.
Other cool features include:
- Kid City: A special area for kids aged five and under.
- Studio X: A creative space where you can invent and build things.
- North Star Science Store: A shop where you can buy science-themed items.
- Craveology cafe: A place to grab a bite to eat.
- Giant Dome Theater: The amazing theater for movies and planetarium shows.
If you live in San Diego County, you can visit for free on the first Tuesday of every month. Other museums in Balboa Park also have free days on different dates.
Exciting Exhibits
The Science Center has both special Visiting Exhibitions and Permanent Exhibitions that stay all the time.
Some of the permanent exhibits you can explore include:
- Design Zone
- Illusions
- It's Electric
- Kid City
- Nano
- Power Play San Diego
- Pulseworks VR Transporter
- San Diego's Water
- So Watt!
- Space Gallery
- Studio X
- Sun, Earth, Universe
Recent temporary exhibitions have included "The Art of the Brick," which featured amazing LEGO art. Another was "Taping Shape," an indoor landscape made from tape. "Science Fiction, Science Future" explored how science fiction ideas might become real.
Theater Shows to Enjoy
The Heikoff Dome Theater usually shows three IMAX films at once. Current films often include Dream Big: Engineering Our World, A Beautiful Planet, and Island of Lemurs: Madagascar. Sometimes, there are also special one-time digital shows. These can be science-focused productions or even music-and-light shows.
The main planetarium show, called "The Sky Tonight," happens on the first Wednesday of every month. The Fleet's astronomer-in-residence hosts it. The show focuses on what the sky looks like right now or on new topics in astronomy. After the show, you can enjoy free outdoor telescope viewing, thanks to the San Diego Astronomy Association.
See also
In Spanish: Centro de Ciencias Reuben H. Fleet para niños
