Pacific Science Center facts for kids
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| Former name | United States Science Pavilion (part of World's Fair in Seattle) |
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| Established | 1962 |
| Location | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Type | Science center |
| Architect | Minoru Yamasaki |
The Pacific Science Center (often called PacSci) is a cool place in Seattle, Washington, USA, where you can learn all about science! It's a special kind of organization that doesn't aim to make money, but instead focuses on teaching people. Its main science museum is located at the Seattle Center, close to Downtown Seattle. There are also other smaller locations, like one in Bellevue, Washington.
PacSci first opened its doors in 1962. It used the buildings that were originally built for the United States Science Pavilion during the Century 21 Exposition, which was a big World's Fair held in Seattle. Every year, more than a million people visit the main Seattle campus to explore and learn!
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What You Can Do at PacSci
The Pacific Science Center is built on a large area of land, about 7.1 acres, at the Seattle Center. It's a great spot to explore science.
Learning Beyond the Main Campus
PacSci also has a special place called the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center. This center works with the City of Bellevue, Washington. It teaches people of all ages about how to protect the environment, understand wetlands, and connect with nature.
PacSci offers many programs throughout the year. These include summer camps in different places around the Puget Sound area. They also have special science events for teens and adults.
Science On Wheels: Bringing Science to You
The Pacific Science Center has a cool outreach program called Science On Wheels. They have vans that travel to schools all over the Pacific Northwest. These vans bring fun, hands-on science activities directly to students. PacSci also has a team of staff who help teachers learn how to teach science better in their classrooms.
A Look Back: PacSci's History
The buildings where the Pacific Science Center is located were first designed by an architect named Minoru Yamasaki. They were built as the United States Science Pavilion for the 1962 Century 21 Exposition, also known as the World's Fair in Seattle. This World's Fair had five main themed areas, and the World of Science was one of them. It was located near the famous Space Needle.
The beautiful fountains at the entrance of the center even appeared in the movie It Happened at the World's Fair, starring Elvis Presley. After the World's Fair ended, the US Science Pavilion was reopened as the Pacific Science Center. For many years, the land and buildings were leased for a very small fee. Then, in 2004, the Pacific Science Center Foundation officially became the owner.
Early Years: The 1960s
In the 1960s, many of the exhibits at PacSci were from the original World's Fair. Only a few of these very old exhibits are still there today. For example, you can still see the Lens and Mirror Machine and a model of the Earth's moon hanging from the ceiling.
One interesting exhibit from the World's Fair was an "illusion ramp." This ramp made buildings look tilted, playing tricks on your eyes! This fun exhibit was brought back in the late 1990s. The domed building, now known as the Seattle Laser Dome, was originally designed to show a wide-angle movie about space travel. Before IMAX movies, this theater showed films like NASA's Apollo 8 mission.
A famous scientist named Dixy Lee Ray was the Science Center director for many years before she became the governor of Washington state. She helped make science popular with kids by hosting a science TV show on Seattle's PBS station, KCTS-9.
Growing Up: The 1970s
In the mid-1970s, a large math exhibit called Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond was a big hit. People in orange jackets, called "OJs," would show how to make soap bubbles and explain math concepts. This exhibit was originally made for the IBM Pavilion at the 1964–65 New York World's Fair. It was removed around 1980.
There was also an aerospace building that had a full-sized model of a lunar module, which is a spacecraft that lands on the moon. In the Life Building, you could see a replica of a First Nations longhouse and a working model of Puget Sound.
Presenters would do exciting science demonstrations. For example, a "physics witch" would ask if you wanted to "boil blood in a paper cup" (it was just a fun trick!). Another presenter would pour liquid nitrogen into the ponds. These presenters were part of the "OJ" program, which trained students to be guides and assistants. The Eames theater, originally for a special IBM movie, was later turned into an IMAX screen in 1979. This was the first of two IMAX theaters at the center.
Big Changes: The 1980s
The Pacific Science Center grew a lot in the 1980s. A new director, George Moynihan, joined in 1980 and led the center for 20 years. Under his leadership, PacSci hosted a very successful exhibit called China: 7000 Years of Discovery in 1984. This helped make PacSci known as a top science center.
Later in the decade, robotic dinosaur exhibits were very popular. This led to PacSci getting a permanent dinosaur display in the 1990s. In 1987, PacSci hosted a big conference for science centers. Around that time, they also opened several new exhibits like Kids Works, Body Works, an animal area, and a tide pool.
Amazing Design and Art
The buildings of the Pacific Science Center were designed by Minoru Yamasaki. His design became very famous around the world. He later designed the World Trade Center in New York City. The walls of each building have a unique arch shape, which Yamasaki used in many of his other designs. There are plans to update the courtyard in 2025 to make it even better for visitors.
In 2013, PacSci asked artists to create public art that showed how solar energy works. A Seattle artist named Dan Corson designed an amazing installation called Sonic Bloom. It has five tall sculptures of flowers, inspired by the Australian firewheel tree. These flowers use solar panels to make electricity. They even hum when people get close to them and light up at night!
IMAX and Permanent Exhibits
Today, the Pacific Science Center has eight buildings. It has two IMAX theaters, which is rare for a science center. It also has one of the world's largest Laser Dome theaters, where you can watch cool laser light shows.
You can explore a dinosaur exhibit, which was first installed in 1990. There's also a tropical butterfly house where butterflies fly freely around you. A planetarium lets you learn about stars and planets. Plus, there are hundreds of hands-on science exhibits where you can touch, play, and discover. Besides these permanent exhibits, PacSci also brings in many traveling and temporary exhibits throughout the year.
More to Explore
- List of science centers
- List of most-visited museums in the United States
