Florida Guide > Days Out
The Orlando Science Center
Like any sizeable city Orlando has attractions that very few visitors would even think about investigating and even its own citizens will probably not have visited, unless they were on a school trip!
The Orlando Science Center almost certainly qualifies as one such place.
In 1955 the Central Florida Federation of Art and Sciences founded a ‘museum on the move’; presenting demonstrations in local schools as well as displaying exhibits in shops and banks. In 1960 the Central Florida Museum and Planetarium (as it became known) opened its doors at its permanent location in Loch Haven Park.
Today the Science Center, which for much of its life operated in a small building that was the original cultural facility in Loch Haven Park, occupies a beautiful, 207, 000 sq site and is housed in a building that is futuristic both in its design and planning. It is clearly evident to the visitor that it has been built for the future with spacious exhibit halls, nature habitats, a theatre, and an observatory, as well as classrooms for visiting school parties. The Center also has visitor amenities such as a science store and cafe.
The Science Center features permanent exhibits which include NatureWorks, which focuses on the plants and animals of coral reefs, salt marshes, mangrove swamps and other Florida environments, while the Science Park exhibit features an array of the Science Center’s best hands-on exhibits including a giant 56 foot echo tube and an earthquake room with a “build and test” shake table.
The Dr Phillips Cinedome is the largest I-Max domed theatre in the world and boasts a 28, 000 watt digital sound system to enhance the films and planetarium experience.
The Cinedome features films such as Wild Ocean, which was filmed off the coast of South Africa and captures one of nature' s greatest migration spectacles while plunging into an underwater feeding frenzy, amidst the dolphins, sharks, whales, gannets, seals and billions of fish.
Available on the first and third Fridays is the Planetarium show ‘Orlando by Night’. This is a live show where experts from the Science Center and the Crosby Observatory explore the evening sky above Orlando pointing out the various constellations and planets that can be seen. After the show visitors can continue to explore the night sky using the observatory’s telescopes.
The Science Center can be found at 777 East Princeton Street, Orlando, Florida 32803-1291 and ample parking is available for $5.
East Princeton Street accessible directly from the I4 and is 2 junctions north of West Colonial Drive (SR 50).
Admission prices are just $17 for Adults with discounts available for under 11’s, Seniors and Students and a reduced rate for entry after 4pm on Saturdays.
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