Courtesy The Orlando Science Center

The Orlando Science Center

777 East Princeton Street
Orlando, Florida 32803-1291

Written by Julie Greiner

The Orlando Science Center offers visitors a hands-on journey through interactive exhibits on a journey to distant planets and remote areas of the Earth. The new 207,000 square feet Orlando Science Center celebrated its grand opening on February 1, 1997 and is six times larger than the original facility. Exhibits explore natural science, physical science, mathematics, earth and space science and applied technologies through amazing theater film techniques, refractor telescope views and nature exhibits.

Crosby Observatory at Orlando Science Center

The aluminum-domed Crosby Observatory atop Orlando Science Center houses Florida's largest publicly accessible refractor telescope. A one-of-a-kind, custom-built

Courtesy The Orlando Science Center

telescope, along with several smaller scopes are available for night sky viewing on Friday and Saturday nights. The visitor may look through the powerful, 10-inch lens of the refractor telescope to view the planets, the four moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn and deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebulas and double stars.

The Exhibit Hall, NatureWorks and Natural Science

The Trading Center has an Object Library where visitors can trade rocks, minerals and shells with other objects collected by other visitors. The NatureWorks Center focuses on the ecosystems of Central Florida such as the mangrove swamps, coral reefs, salt marshes and plants and animals of Florida's environments. Daily shows in NatureWorks includes the "Circle of Life Game" offering prizes based on the participant's knowledge of

Courtesy The Orlando Science Center

animal trivia. The Kids Town exhibit offers children under 48 inches tall the opportunity to explore their world in a town designed for just them.

Darden Adventure Theater at the Orlando Science Center

The adventure theater is considered a hallmark of the Orlando Science Center. This 250-seat Theater features science-themed musical comedy shows and demonstrations. The Dr. Phillips CineDome features the worlds largest lwerks screen measuring 8,000 square feet and seats 310 viewers. Large-format films are projected from the lwerks projector onto the dome through a fisheye lens, creating an image that surrounds the audience and uses the largest film format in existence.

Exhibits in the Orlando Science Center explore natural science, physical science, mathematics, earth and space science and applied technologies. Lowrie Hall offers traveling exhibits such as Masters of the Ocean Realm and the science of Solving Crime "WhoDunit?" The Orlando Science Center is a private, non-profit lifelong learning center that serves children, families and teachers of all ages and backgrounds and is dedicated to creating experiential science learning opportunities and promoting science literacy. For operating hours and movie showtimes call 1-888-OSC-4FUN.