The California Science Center is a prominent science museum and state agency situated in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, California. Located alongside the University of Southern California and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, it operates through a public-private partnership between the State of California and the California Science Center Foundation. Recognized as the largest hands-on science institution on the West Coast, the center provides free general admission to its permanent gallery spaces, drawing nearly 1.7 million visitors in 2022 and annually presenting the California State Science Fair.
The institution dates back to an agricultural fairground site that opened the California State Exhibition building in 1912. Designed with brick and terra cotta, the original facility displayed the state's natural resources and industrial products. Rebranded in 1951 as the California Museum of Science and Industry, the institution introduced interactive thematic displays, a dedicated science wing, and an IMAX theater. Following structural damage from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the museum closed in 1996 for redevelopment. Reopening in 1998 as the California Science Center, the redesigned facility preserved the 1912 historic north facade facing the Exposition Park Rose Garden while modernizing its educational spaces.
Inside, guests can explore several permanent thematic environments. The Ecosystems gallery spans two stories and 45,000 square feet, featuring diverse living habitats such as deserts, polar regions, and deep seas. This area includes a 188,000-gallon kelp tank filled with over 1,500 live marine organisms and an acrylic walkthrough tunnel. The World of Life exhibition explores biological processes across five galleries, highlighted by BodyWorks, a 15-minute educational show featuring a 50-foot animatronic human body simulator named Tess. Another specialized exhibit, Fire! Science & Safety, was developed inside a simulated apartment setting alongside the Children's Burn Foundation to highlight fire prevention.
The facility maintains an extensive collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft. Historic space hardware includes the Mercury-Redstone 2 capsule, Gemini 11, the Apollo-Soyuz Command Module, and a SpaceX Dragon C108 capsule, alongside engineering models and replicas of planetary probes like Viking Lander and Cassini-Huygens. Prominent aircraft on view include a Douglas DC-8 jetliner, a Boeing 747, and a Lockheed A-12 Oxcart trainer. The center is also the permanent home of Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is being prepared for a 20-story vertical launching display within the upcoming Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Additional paid experiences at the facility include films in a seven-story IMAX theater, a climbing wall, a motion simulator, and a high-wire bicycle.
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