The Saint Louis Science Center, founded as a planetarium in 1963, is a collection of buildings including a
science museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
and
planetarium
A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation.
A dominant feature of most planetarium ...
in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, on the southeastern corner of
Forest Park
A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment.
Examples Chile
* Forest Park, Santiago
China
*Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai
* Mufushan National Fores ...
. With over 750 exhibits in a complex of over , it is among the largest of its type in the United States.
James S. McDonnell Planetarium
![McDonnellPlanetarium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/McDonnellPlanetarium.jpg)
Funding for the first structure of the current campus began in 1955, with $1 million of a $110 million city bond issue specified for the construction of a planetarium. Two years were spent surveying locations. The first proposed site, on the northern side of Forest Park near the
Jefferson Memorial Building at Lindell and DeBaliviere, was scrapped because of restrictions on subdivisions. The location was changed to the southern part of the park, on the site of the old
mounted police
Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in the ...
station, which was demolished in 1960. The plan was to build a planetarium, science museum, and natural history museum.
[
The Planetarium was designed by Gyo Obata of ]Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum
HOK, formerly Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum and legally HOK Group, Inc., is an American design, architecture, engineering, and urban planning firm, founded in 1955.
As of 2018, HOK is the largest U.S.-based architecture-engineering f ...
with a unique shape (Obata was later tasked in the 1970s with designing the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
). '' Architectural Forum'' magazine described it as, "Looking like some strange craft spun down to earth from outer space... St. Louis's new planetarium perches gracefully on a rise in ... Forest Park".[ James Smith McDonnell (1899–1980), an aviation pioneer and co-founder of St. Louis-based ]McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...
, an aerospace manufacturer, donated $200,000 for equipment such as the star projector. The facility was named after him in 1964.
The McDonnell Planetarium is home to a ZEISS UNIVERSARIUM Mark IX Star Projector. Installed in 2001, this machine is one of only three in the United States and thirteen in the world. The unusual request for an "open" planetarium theater called of the extremely bright stellar projections, a challenge outstandingly mastered by ZEISS Zeiss or Zeiß may refer to:
People
*Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), German optician and entrepreneur
*Emil Zeiß (1833–1910), German Protestant minister and painter
Companies
*Carl Zeiss AG, German manufacturer of optics, industrial measurem ...
fiber-optic projectors.
Science Center
In 1972, the Museum of Science and Natural History
The Academy of Science, St. Louis (sometimes rendered as Academy of Science - St. Louis) is a non-profit organization in St. Louis, Missouri, dedicated to science literacy and education. Founded in 1856 by a group of scientists and businessmen, i ...
, located in Oak Knoll Park in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton, began to receive funds from sales tax through the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District The Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District or ZMD is a cultural tax district in St. Louis City and St. Louis County, Missouri. The district has five subdistricts: the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Science Center, Misso ...
. In 1983, the museum purchased the Planetarium from the city, and closed it for remodeling. On July 20, 1978, the Planetarium reopened as the Saint Louis Science Center.[ On November 2, 1991, as part of a $34 million expansion, a new building opened across from the Planetarium south of I-64, on Oakland Avenue, increasing the size of the Science Center by a factor of seven. The new building was constructed on land that had previously been the site of the Falstaff Brewing Corporation headquarters.][ Connected to the Planetarium via a Skybridge over I-64, the new exhibits in the main building were devoted to ]Earth science
Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
, emerging technology, life sciences
This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...
, physical science
Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences".
Definition
Physi ...
, and chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
. Within two months, the newly remodeled St. Louis Science Center became the most visited science center in the world.[
One of the most recognizable features of the St. Louis Science Center is the five-story domed OMNIMAX theater, which shows a variety of educational films and documentaries year round. Occasionally, the theater features feature films as they are released, such as '']Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
''. In 2019, the OMNIMAX theater underwent its first major renovations since opening in 1991, becoming the fourth OMNIMAX theater to use the IMAX with laser projection system. Other improvements include new state-of-the-art sound technology, a NanoSeam screen for a more uniform screen surface, and upgraded and wider seating.
Exploradome and GROW
On February 8, 1997, an air-supported building was added to the main building, the Exploradome. With an additional , it was intended as a temporary facility for traveling exhibitions, additional classrooms, and to host large group events. Notable exhibits have included shows on the RMS ''Titanic'' ocean liner and '' Body Worlds'', a traveling exhibition of preserved human bodies.[ From October 2011 until May 2012, the main building hosted '' Star Trek: The Exhibition'', a major showcase of '']Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' props, costumes and artifacts, including a full-size bridge from the USS ''Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterprise ...
''. The Exploradome was deflated to make way for a planned expansion after 16 years of operations on June 24, 2013.
In 2016, the museum’s largest major addition in 25 years was completed. The new exhibit space was designed by St. Louis-based design firm Arcturis with Gyo Obata brought on as a consultant. Called GROW, the project’s centerpiece is a 5,000 square foot permanent pavilion that has a flexible, open floor plan that houses ever-changing exhibits and events. Its primary focus is the story of agriculture and the many ways technology is shaping the agricultural landscape.
Exhibitions
Mcdonnell planetarium slsc.jpg, The Mcdonnell planetarium
Saint Louis Science Center T-Rex lower level.jpg, Lower level exhibits
Saint Louis Science Center ag area.jpg, Creative commons area
Saint Louis Science Center Missouri map.jpg, Missouri map
WeatherReadyFest
The 2018 WeatherReadyFest WeatherReadyFest, formerly WeatherFest, is an annual public educational outreach event hosted by the National Weather Association in conjunction with the organization's annual meeting.
The event includes hands on activities and exhibits focused on ...
event was held at the St. Louis Science Center featuring talks, demonstrations and displays from the National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
and other government and private agencies.
Washington University in St. Louis CCSN Outreach
Washington University students participating in the Cognitive, Computational and Systems Neuroscience (CCSN) pathway have created a series of exhibitions displayed at the St. Louis Science Center in an outreach program since the pathway's inception in 2008.
See also
* X Prize Foundation
* Erik Lindbergh
Erik Robbins Lindbergh (born 1965) is an American aviator, adventurer, and artist. He is the grandson of pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh, the first person to fly non-stop and solo between New York and Paris in 1927. In 2002, Erik Lindbergh h ...
References
External links
Saint Louis Science Center Homepage
{{Authority control
Planetaria in the United States
IMAX venues
Hyperboloid structures
Museums in St. Louis
Science museums in Missouri
Science Cener
Science centers
Science center
1963 establishments in Missouri
Museums established in 1963
Buildings and structures in St. Louis
Natural history museums in Missouri