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The reinvented Science Museum reopens May 18, 2013, following a dramatic $30 million renovation of its home in Center in the Square.
Our expanded galleries -- Healthy Bodies, Healthy Earth, and How It Works! -- feature exciting, interactive exhibits. We also offer an innovative Open Lab, a dedicated space for pre-schoolers, and a spectacular live butterfly garden.
Chartered in 1970 as the first science museum in Virginia, we make science and technology accessible to all people by being an outstanding institution that ignites life-long learning. The Science Museum is among fewer than 5% of museums in the U.S. nationally accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
The Butterfly Garden
The crowning jewel of the reinvented Science Museum, the Butterfly Garden offers the opportunity to interact with live butterflies from around the world – some with wingspans of 8 inches! – in an enclosed picturesque setting of lush plants and more than 20 species of orchids.
Healthy Bodies Gallery
Follow the journey your food takes in our Walk Thru Digestion. See what lies under our skin through a one-of-a-kind “plastinated” human specimen. Feel the effects on your heart if you gained 30 pounds. Discover how medications interact with our bodies in our Virtual Medicine Cabinet. Leave with a new appreciation for nature’s most complex being: You!
Healthy Earth Gallery
Healthy lives depend on healthy environments. Journey Underground to interact with Virginia geological specimens. Study our soil and follow the production of food. Explore our world through the wonder of OmniGlobe. Become an on-air meteorologist in our Weather Studio. Experience environmental stewardship along our Living River Boardwalk and live animal touch tank.
How it Works Gallery
Feel the rumble and heat of recycling steel in Renewed by Fire. Operate the fiber-optic controls of our Butter-FLY CAM. Discover how your auto has advanced in Under the Hood. These interactive exhibits feature technologies that were developed or are in use in western Virginia, and enable us to live healthy and more productive lives while being better stewards of our environment.
Open Lab
Choose from two dozen science experiments that you can perform with your friends or family in an inviting, safe and controlled environment.
Children's Curiosity Corner
Your preschooler will love Little Big Mouth, Crawl Thru Digestion and a fun fossil dig - all designed for kids five and younger.
