Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is located in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in P ...

. The center is the first complex of its kind in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

to use

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

as an entry to the arts. Whitaker Center exhibits

, the performing arts, and a digital cinema under one roof. The center encompasses a total of , including the three main components, plus STAGE TWO, Discovery Lab classrooms, multi-purpose rooms, the AMP Grand Lobby and the Kunkel Gallery.

History

In September 1997, ground was broken on the corner of Third and Market Streets in the heart of downtown Harrisburg and the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, a $52.7 million public-private partnership, was born. The Whitaker Foundation and the Helen F. Whitaker Fund have contributed over $8 million to the center. Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is named in memory of the founder of AMP Incorporated (now

TE Connectivity TE Connectivity is an American Swiss-domiciled technology company that designs and manufactures connectors and sensors for several industries, such as automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, o ...

), Uncas A. Whitaker and his wife Helen F. Whitaker, in recognition of these grants. The

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

awarded the center a major grant in support of a permanent exhibit for the new Science Center. "Bodies In Motion: The Physics of Dance" explores the physics of human movement, especially dance,

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

and ice-skating. This is one of the flagship exhibits for the Science Center.

Whitaker Center attractions

Select Medical Digital Cinema (formerly Select Medical IMAX Theater) is a large-format cinema arts theater which primarily focuses on educational films. It was an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graem ...

theater until 2014, when it was upgraded to a more cost-effective digital system. During its operation, it was the only IMAX theater in the Central Pennsylvania region. Harsco Science Center has three floors and features more than 240 exhibits that explore

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 Phys ...

, natural science,

life science Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

, mathematics and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

. There are also limited-engagement exhibits. Sunoco Performance Theater showcases 696 seats within the Orchestra, Mezzanine, and Balcony levels. The theater's design features 14 theater boxes over those levels. Currently, there are seven resident companies at the theater: Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Harrisburg Choral Society, Harrisburg Opera Association, Market Square Concerts, Susquehanna Chorale, Theatre Harrisburg and The Wednesday Club.

References

Museums in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Science museums in Pennsylvania Performing arts centers in Pennsylvania Performing arts in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Defunct IMAX venues Whitaker Center {{HarrisburgPA-stub