Saint Louis Science Center in Missouri, USA

The Saint Louis Science Center combines hands-on science galleries with a planetarium, an IMAX dome theater, laboratories, collections displays, and exhibits covering subjects from paleontology and biology to engineering, agriculture, energy, and space. Its campus occupies two sides of Interstate 64 near Forest Park, with the Oakland building connected to the James S. McDonnell Planetarium by the pedestrian Sky Bridge.

What Is Inside the Science Center?

The museum contains hundreds of interactive experiences across its galleries. Visitors can investigate fossils and earthquakes in Earth Sciences, explore living systems in the Life Science Lab, experiment with engineering and construction concepts, examine energy technology, and encounter exhibits devoted to aviation and spaceflight.

The Earth Sciences gallery includes dinosaur and fossil displays, a fossil preparation area, geology exhibits, and an earthquake simulator. Its dinosaur presentation features a Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops horridus, while other displays explain fossilization, extinction, plate tectonics, and how paleontologists prepare specimens for study.

In the Life Science Lab, the subjects extend to genetics, anatomy, ecology, health, and marine biology. The gallery includes a Pacific coral reef aquarium with living coral and reef organisms, alongside changing hands-on activities and objects from the Science Center’s collections.

James S. McDonnell Planetarium

The James S. McDonnell Planetarium opened in 1963 and forms the Forest Park side of the Science Center campus. Its Bill and Laura Orthwein StarBay underwent its largest technological upgrade in more than 25 years during 2026 and reopened to the public on July 18, 2026.

The upgraded projection system combines a GOTO Chiron III Hybrid Star Projector with a Cosm Digistar Full-Dome Data Visualization System. The optical projector can reproduce thousands of stars visible to the unaided eye while the digital system adds 360-degree astronomical and geospatial visualization. The project also introduced a 22,000-watt surround-sound system and new hearing-assistance technology.

Planetarium programming includes educator-led presentations about the night sky as well as digitally rendered journeys through the Solar System and beyond. Planetarium shows are separate from free general admission and require tickets unless included with an eligible membership.

OMNIMAX Theater

The museum’s OMNIMAX® Theater is located on the second floor of the main building. It uses IMAX with Laser projection inside an approximately five-story dome measuring 80 feet in diameter. The curved screen fills much of the viewer’s field of vision and is used for science, nature, space, and other documentary films, along with selected feature films.

OMNIMAX screenings are ticketed. Film titles, schedules, and prices change, so current showtimes are best checked directly through the Science Center before a visit.

GROW and the Science of Food

GROW examines agriculture and the path food takes from farms to consumers. The area includes a 5,000-square-foot pavilion and about one acre of outdoor space. Exhibits connect farming with soil, plants, water, technology, food production, and agricultural decision-making rather than presenting agriculture only as a historical subject.

GROW opened in 2016 after the former EXPLORADOME area was redeveloped. Its indoor-outdoor format makes it physically different from most of the Science Center’s galleries.

Objects From the Museum Collections

The Saint Louis Science Center maintains more than 100,000 artifacts and specimens. These holdings document natural history, science, technology, medicine, and aspects of the history of the St. Louis region.

Objects from these holdings can be seen in Inside the Vault, an exhibition in the passage leading toward the Planetarium. Collections represented there include ornithology specimens, space-related objects, geological material from Cherokee Cave, paleoanthropology material, historical footwear, and medical devices associated with false or unsupported health claims.

How the Museum Developed

The institution traces its origins to the Academy of Science of St. Louis, founded in 1856. The Academy established the Museum of Science and Natural History at Oak Knoll Park in Clayton in 1959. After the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District was formed, the museum became an independent member institution in 1971.

The museum acquired the McDonnell Planetarium from the City of St. Louis in 1984. Following renovation, it reopened in 1985 as the Saint Louis Science Center.

A $34 million expansion produced the Oakland building, which opened on November 2, 1991. That project added the OMNIMAX Theater and the bridge crossing Interstate 64 between the main building and Planetarium. Boeing Hall, a 13,000-square-foot space for traveling exhibitions, followed in 2011, and GROW opened in 2016.

Admission, Hours, and Parking

General admission is free. Separate tickets may be required for OMNIMAX films, Planetarium shows, special exhibitions, the Discovery Room, flight simulators, and other selected experiences.

During the current summer schedule from Memorial Day through Labor Day, the Science Center is open from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and is closed Tuesday. The final building entry is 30 minutes before closing. Hours can change seasonally, so the official hours page should be checked before traveling.

Parking at the Oakland building at 5050 Oakland Avenue currently costs $15 and is paid by debit or credit card. Parking is also available at the McDonnell Planetarium entrance in Forest Park. The two buildings are connected internally by the Sky Bridge and tunnel, allowing visitors to move between the main galleries and Planetarium without driving between them.

Accessible parking spaces are provided at both parking areas. Elevators and ramps serve public areas, and the museum offers wheelchairs and strollers without a rental charge while supplies are available. The Science Center also schedules Sensory Friendly Science Time on Sunday mornings with adjustments such as reduced exhibit noise and modified OMNIMAX presentations.