California Science Center

Not to be confused with California Academy of Sciences.
California Science Center
Established 1951 as California Museum of Science and Industry
1998 as California Science Center
Location Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California
Coordinates 34°0′56″N 118°17′9″W / 34.01556°N 118.28583°W / 34.01556; -118.28583Coordinates: 34°0′56″N 118°17′9″W / 34.01556°N 118.28583°W / 34.01556; -118.28583
Type Science museum
Public transit access

 Expo Line  Expo Park/USC (Expo Line)
Website CaliforniaScienceCenter.org

The California Science Center (sometimes spelled California ScienCenter) is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, next to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the University of Southern California. Billed as the West Coast's largest hands-on science center, the California Science Center is a public-private partnership between the State of California and the California Science Center Foundation. The museum is also an affiliate in the Smithsonian Affiliations program.[1]

Founded in 1951 as the "California Museum of Science and Industry", the Museum was remodeled and renamed in 1998 as the "California Science Center".

Admission includes access the permanent exhibits and demonstrations. A separate ticket is required for the IMAX movies, most special traveling exhibitions, and special activities that include a climbing wall, motion simulator and a high-wire bicycle.

The California Science Center hosts the California State Science Fair annually.

The Center has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and is a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers.

The California Natural Resources Agency oversees the California Science Center and the California African American Museum.

Current permanent exhibits

Ecosystems

The two-story, 45,000-square-foot exhibit features display zones with live animals and aquariums about wildlife and adaptation in different ecosystems, including a river, desert, polar region, deep sea, ocean, island and urban areas, as well as the entire planet Earth.[2]

Creative World

An area with hands-on activities and exhibits that explore innovation and invention, with themes involving construction, energy and transportation.

World of Life

Examines the processes of life and similarities among organisms, including food, body organs like the heart and brain, senses, defenses against threats, how living things reproduce which includes a hatching chick display, DNA, and microscopic organisms.

Air and Space Exhibits

Space Shuttle Endeavour in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion

Aircraft

Human Spacecraft

Robotic Spacecraft

History

Exhibit at the California Science Center

State Exhibition

The museum's history dates back to the first California State Exhibition building, which opened in Exposition Park in Los Angeles in 1912, the site of an agricultural fairground from 1872 to 1910. The brick and terra cotta building, designed by William D. Coates, Jr., state architect, and N. Ellery, state engineer,[4] displayed agriculturally-based natural resources and industrial products from across the state, including ranching, fish and game, coal mining, gold mining, oil production and lumbering, as well as some of the state's recreational attractions.[5] After World War II, the building also featured exhibits about state science and technology industries.[6][7]

California Museum of Science and Industry

In 1951, the exhibition became the "California Museum of Science and Industry". The State Exhibition building was renamed in honor of major donor and trustee Howard F. Ahmanson as the Howard F. Ahmanson Building.[8] The hands-on interactive exhibits included themes on agriculture, transportation, electricity, energy, industries and minerals.[9]

In 1961, the museum opened a new science wing that featured "Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond", an exhibit sponsored by IBM and designed by Charles and Ray Eames to visually explaining fundamental mathematical concepts.[10][11] Interaction stations demonstrated different concepts including celestial mechanics, the Möbius strip, multiplication, symmetry and projective geometry. The original exhibit closed in 1998 and is now on display at the New York Hall of Science.[12]

The Hall of Health was added in 1968.[9]

1984 Changes

In preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics, the museum added new exhibits on earthquakes and economics, and a IMAX theatre.[13] The opening and closing ceremonies for the games were held in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is adjacent to the museum.

California African American Museum

The California African American Museum was founded in 1981 and housed in the California Museum of Science and Industry until 1984, when its own facility was opened adjacent to the California Aerospace Museum.

1990s and closing

In 1994, the museum's building was damaged by the Northridge earthquake.[14]

The California Museum of Science and Industry closed in 1996 to prepare for a new facility.

California Aerospace Museum

Former California Aerospace Museum, now closed, designed by Frank Gehry, with Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

The "California Aerospace Museum" was also opened in 1984 adjacent to and operated by the California Museum of Science and Industry to coincide with the Summer Olympics.[15][16] It was also known as Aerospace Hall but also commonly known as the California Air and Space Museum/Gallery and the SKETCH Foundation Gallery,[17] and was the first major public work of architect Frank Gehry.[18] The museum focused on the State's history as a leader in the aviation and aerospace industries and featured a giant, hangar-like space with aircraft and space vehicles and artifacts.

The building, now known as the Air and Space Gallery, was closed in 2011.[19] In 2012 the building was listed on the California Register of Historical Resources,[20] but its future is unknown.

Transformation to California Science Center

In 1988 the museum's leadership began a to develop a three-phase, 25-year master plan to transform the institution from a science museum to a science education facility.[6] This new facility would be known as the California Science Center. The original museum building closed its doors in 1996 to prepare for the new construction.

Phase I

Lockheed A-12 on display outside the California Science Center

The new construction was designed by Portland, Oregon-based Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership.[14] Changes included:

Phase I was completed and opened in 1998, when the museum was opened and officially renamed the California Science Center.[14]

Phase II

Phase III

See also

References

  1. ↑ "California Science Center". Affiliate Detail. Smithsonian Affiliations. 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  2. ↑ "California Science Center Opens New Ecosystems Experience". California Science Center. March 8, 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Alicia Chang (October 14, 2012). "Space shuttle Endeavour arrives at Los Angeles museum after 12-mile trip across city". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Early Los Angeles Historical Buildings (1900 - 1925)". Water and Power Associates. Retrieved 6 March 2016. Historical Notes The State Exposition Building, designed by William D. Coates, Jr., state architect, and N. Ellery, state engineer, opened in 1912 and housed simple, agriculturally based displays of natural resources and industrial products from across the state.*
  5. ↑ "Postacard: The California State Exposition Building, Exposition Park". Card Cow. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Our Past". California Science Center. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Federal Writers' Project. "The WPA Guide to California: The Golden State".
  8. ↑ "History". The Ahmanson Foundation. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  9. 1 2 "The Story of the California Museum of Science and Industry". California State Science Fair Historical Information. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Popularizing Math and Science". IBM at 100: Icons of Progress. Retrieved 6 March 2016. Arguably, the signature example of their efforts for IBM was Mathematica, the first interactive exhibit to make math its subject. Planning a new science wing to debut in 1961, the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles asked IBM for a contribution. The company turned to the Eameses, who designed a display that, in the words of Charles Eames, would “let the fun [of math and science] out of the bag.”
  11. ↑ "ReAppreciating Mathematica". Humantific New york. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Mathematica". New York Hall of Science. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "California Museum of Science and Industry1951-1996". Whimsical Will. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 Nicolai Ouroussoff (February 2, 1998). "The new California Science Center is a commanding presence and unifying element at a neglected site.". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "California Aerospace Museum, Exposition Park". Marry Anne Sullivan, Bluffton University. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "California Aerospace Museum, Los Angeles, California". Knowlton School of Architecture, Ohio State University. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "California Aerospace Museum". California State Parks Office of Historic Preservation. January 24, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Air and Space Gallery, California Science Center". Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Perishable! Gehry's Air and Space Gallery in limbo at California Science Center.". The Architects Newspaper. July 6, 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  20. ↑ "Recommendation Report". Los Angeles Department of City Planning. June 7, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Add to Board WS ZO View of historical façade of former State Exposition Building now called the California Science Center in Exposition Park Los Angeles / Los Angeles, California, USA". Getty Images. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ecosystem in spotlight at California Science Center". San Jose Mercury News. March 25, 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  23. ↑ Bianca Barrigan (October 3, 2014). "Cornerspotted: The Old Armory Building in Exposition Park". Curbed Los Angeles. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Official site". Dr. Theodore T. Alexander Jr. Science Center School. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Space Container - Inside the California Science Center's temporary home for the space shuttle Endeavour.". The Architects Newspaper. December 11, 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "NASA gives California Science Center museum last remaining space shuttle fuel tank". LA Times. May 28, 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  27. ↑ "EndeavourLA Campaign". California Science Center. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  28. ↑ Emily Lakdawalla (April 13, 2011). "Congratulations to the California Science Center on getting Space Shuttle Endeavour!". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to California Science Center.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.