Saint Louis Science Center facts for kids
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Saint Louis Science Center Entrance
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| Established | 1963 |
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| Location | 5050 Oakland Ave, St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Public transit access |  MetroBus |
Welcome to the Saint Louis Science Center! This amazing place in St. Louis, Missouri, is a huge science museum and planetarium. It first opened as a planetarium in 1963. Located at the edge of Forest Park, it has over 750 cool exhibits. With more than 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) of space, it is one of the biggest science centers in the United States.
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Explore the James S. McDonnell Planetarium
The idea for the first building, the planetarium, started in 1955. The city set aside $1 million to build it. After looking at different spots, they chose a place in the southern part of Forest Park. This was where an old police station used to be. The plan was to build a planetarium, a science museum, and a natural history museum.
The Planetarium was designed by Gyo Obata. He created a very unique shape for the building. Architectural Forum magazine even said it looked like a "strange craft spun down to earth from outer space." James Smith McDonnell, a pioneer in aviation, gave $200,000 for special equipment. This included the amazing star projector. The building was named after him in 1964.
Today, the McDonnell Planetarium has a special ZEISS UNIVERSARIUM Mark IX Star Projector. This incredible machine was put in place in 2001. It is one of only three like it in the United States. There are only thirteen of these projectors in the whole world! It makes the stars look super bright, even in an "open" theater.
Discover the Science Center Building
In 1983, the Museum of Science and Natural History bought the Planetarium. They closed it for a while to make it even better. On July 20, 1978, it reopened as the Saint Louis Science Center. Then, on November 2, 1991, a huge expansion happened. A new building opened across the highway, making the Science Center seven times bigger!
This new building was built on land where a brewing company used to be. A special Skybridge connects it to the Planetarium over the highway. The new exhibits in this main building cover many topics. You can learn about Earth science, new technologies, life sciences, physics, and chemistry. Within just two months, the newly expanded Saint Louis Science Center became the most visited science center in the world!
One of the most famous parts of the Science Center is the OMNIMAX theater. It has a five-story dome screen! This theater shows many educational films and documentaries. Sometimes, it even shows popular movies like Star Wars. In 2019, the OMNIMAX theater got a big upgrade. It now uses a new laser projection system and has better sound. The screen is also improved, and the seats are wider and more comfortable.
Exploradome and GROW Exhibits
On February 8, 1997, a large, air-filled building called the Exploradome was added. It gave the Science Center an extra 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) of space. This area was used for traveling exhibits and classrooms. It also hosted big group events. Some famous exhibits included shows about the RMS Titanic ship. Another popular one was Body Worlds, which showed preserved human bodies.
From October 2011 to May 2012, the main building hosted Star Trek: The Exhibition. This was a major show with props, costumes, and items from Star Trek. It even had a full-size bridge from the USS Enterprise spaceship! The Exploradome was taken down in 2013 to make room for new plans.
In 2016, the museum finished its biggest new addition in 25 years. This new area is called GROW. It has a large, flexible space for changing exhibits and events. GROW mainly focuses on the story of agriculture. It shows how technology is changing how we grow food.
More Fun Exhibitions
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The McDonnell Planetarium
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Lower level exhibits
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Creative commons area
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Missouri map
WeatherReadyFest
The Saint Louis Science Center has hosted special events like WeatherReadyFest. In 2018, this event featured talks and demonstrations. Experts from the National Weather Service shared information about weather.
Washington University in St. Louis CCSN Outreach
Students from Washington University in St. Louis also create exhibits for the Science Center. These students are part of a program called Cognitive, Computational and Systems Neuroscience (CCSN). They have been sharing their work with visitors since 2008.
See also
- X Prize Foundation
- Erik Lindbergh
- List of science centers
