McWane Science Center

McWane Science Center The McWane Science Center, located in the historic building of the former Loveman's department store in downtown Birmingham, Jefferson County, is a non-profit enterprise that combines a museum, theater, and aquarium. It grew from the merger of two older science centers, in part owing to financial support from one of Birmingham's most philanthropic family businesses. The center's success in its downtown location helped spark revitalization in the area, and it seeks to expand to become one of the largest science museum facilities in the nation. The center is governed by a citizen board of trustees.

Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis The earliest inception of what would become the McWane Center was the Red Mountain Museum, located on Red Mountain in downtown Birmingham. The facility was established by the City of Birmingham in the 1970s as a center for the study of science, with a primary focus on the paleontology of the area, including the Basilosaurus cetoides, a prehistoric predatory whale that is the official state fossil. In 1991 the museum merged its resources with Discovery Place, a science-education center for children established in 1977 with funding from the McWane Foundation (the charitable extension of McWane Inc.), to form the Discovery 2000 corporation, with the goal of creating a central downtown science center. After a $10 million donation from the McWane family, the name of the facility was changed to "McWane Science Center," but the project's fundraising arm retained the name Discovery 2000. Owners of one of the largest water and sewer pipe manufacturing companies in the world, the McWane family's philanthropic efforts date back to the turn of the twentieth century. In 1904, J.R. McWane and his Birmingham Steel and Iron Company were central in the financing and construction of the Vulcan Statue, a symbol of Birmingham industry currently perched atop Red Mountain.

The initial phase of the McWane Science Center opened July 11, 1998, in a new 180,000-square-foot facility. In the ensuing decades, the museum has continued to add exhibits and educational programs. The popular Science Quest section on the museum's first floor features dozens of hands-on interactive exhibits, including a bed of nails, a distortion room, and a pulley chair lift. Other permanent attractions include the World of Water aquarium, which features ocean and river life; the Rushton Theater, a multimedia learning space; the Bubble Room, where visitors of all ages can experiment with the science of bubbles; the Explore! paleontology gallery, which focuses on Alabama dinosaurs; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Science on a Sphere exhibit, which focuses on weather science; Itty Bitty Magic City, an interactive play area for young children; the NatureScope exhibit, which features displays on Alabama birds and insects; and the Art and Tech gallery, which allows visitors to explore the interactions of science, technology, and art. McWane Center visitors can also watch films at the John W. Woods IMAX® Dome Theater, the only IMAX® Dome in the southeastern U.S.

Alongside its exhibits, the McWane Science Center’s education team offers a host of programs. Each day, visitors can join in for staff-led demonstrations in McWane’s Rushton Theater, as well as in other parts of the facility. The McWane Center offers additional enrichment programs for the tens of thousands of students who visit each year on school field trips, including a wide array of STEM labs for students at every grade level. As part of the McWane on the Move program, McWane staff members travel across the state to offer engaging presentations in classrooms and school auditoriums. The museum engages with K-12 educators as well through its professional development workshops and its Educator Advisory Committee. McWane also offers homeschool programming, summer day camps, and numerous special events.