33°26′55″N 112°04′00″W / 33.4486469°N 112.0665931°W
The Arizona Science Center, at 600 Washington St in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, is a science museum located in Heritage and Science Park. It was founded in 1984 as the Arizona Museum of Science & Technology in a downtown storefront. Its current building, designed by Antoine Predock, was completed in 1997. Along with daily demonstrations throughout the Center, the Center provides shows in the Dorrance Planetarium and in a five-story, giant screen IMAX Theater.
Arizona Science Center, formerly the Arizona Museum of Science & Technology, was conceived in 1980 as a pilot science center by the Junior League of Phoenix. [1] The Science Center opened its doors to the public in 1984 as a small 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) storefront exhibition space located in the parking garage level of the downtown Phoenix Hyatt. The Science Center’s first year of operation saw more than 87,000 visitors.[ citation needed] Following sustained demand, construction of the 120,000-square-foot (11,000 m2), Antoine Predock-designed facility was completed in 1997. [2] When the Science Center moved to its present location, Heritage Square was renamed Heritage and Science Park. [3]
Among the museum's best-known programs is the annual Snow Week. [4] [5]
In 2009, the museum reached an agreement with the adjacent, closed Phoenix Museum of History to showcase their collection. [6]
As of March 2022, Guy Labine is the museum's president and CEO. [7]