California Science Center

California Science Center
Richard Kim · CC BY 3.0 · source
Name	California Science Center
Location	Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California
Type	Science museum
Visitors	2.5 million
Director	Jeff Rudolph

California Science Center. The California Science Center is a science museum located in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, California, and is adjacent to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the University of Southern California. It is one of the largest science centers in the United States, and has been visited by over 2.5 million people annually, including students from Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and California Institute of Technology. The center is also close to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, and has hosted events in collaboration with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

● History

The California Science Center was founded in 1951 as the California Museum of Science and Industry, and was established by a group of Los Angeles civic leaders, including Mayor Fletcher Bowron and Governor Earl Warren. The center was originally located in a former Municipal Auditorium building in Exposition Park, and featured exhibits on science and technology from the California Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, and University of California, Los Angeles. In the 1980s, the center underwent a major renovation and expansion, led by Architect Frank Gehry and Engineer William F. Ballhaus Jr., and was renamed the California Science Center. The center has since become a major tourist attraction in Los Angeles, and has hosted visitors from around the world, including NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Physicist Stephen Hawking, and Astronaut Sally Ride.

● Exhibits

The California Science Center features a wide range of exhibits on science and technology, including exhibits on space exploration from NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and SpaceX, as well as exhibits on environmental science from the Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The center also features exhibits on health science from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the University of California, San Francisco, as well as exhibits on transportation science from the Federal Aviation Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the University of Michigan. Some of the most popular exhibits at the center include the Space Shuttle Endeavour exhibit, which features the Space Shuttle Endeavour spacecraft, as well as exhibits on robotics from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of California, Berkeley.

● Collections

The California Science Center has a large collection of artifacts and specimens related to science and technology, including a collection of spacecraft and space suits from NASA, Russian Federal Space Agency, and European Space Agency. The center also has a collection of scientific instruments from the University of California, Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Southern California, as well as a collection of natural history specimens from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the University of California, Berkeley. The center's collections also include a large archive of scientific documents and photographs from the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

● Education

The California Science Center offers a wide range of educational programs for students and teachers, including field trips and workshops on science and technology from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the University of California, Los Angeles. The center also offers professional development programs for teachers from the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, and the University of Southern California. The center's educational programs are designed to align with the California State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards, and are developed in collaboration with educators from the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and the California Department of Education.

● Facilities

The California Science Center is located in a 245,000-square-foot building in Exposition Park, and features a range of facilities and amenities, including a theater with a giant screen from IMAX Corporation, a planetarium from Zeiss, and a gift shop from the Smithsonian Institution. The center also has a range of meeting rooms and event spaces that can be rented for conferences and special events from the Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, and the University of Southern California. The center's facilities are designed to be accessible and sustainable, and feature a range of energy-efficient systems from Southern California Edison, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the U.S. Green Building Council.

● Special Events

The California Science Center hosts a range of special events throughout the year, including lectures and workshops on science and technology from the TED Conference, World Science Festival, and the University of California, Los Angeles. The center also hosts exhibitions and installations on art and science from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Broad, and the University of Southern California. Some of the most popular special events at the center include the Annual Science Fair from the Intel Science Talent Search, Google Science Fair, and the University of California, Berkeley, as well as the Space Exploration Festival from NASA, SpaceX, and the Planetary Society. The center's special events are designed to be fun and educational, and offer something for everyone, from families to professionals from the University of California, Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Southern California. Category:Science museums in the United States