A St. Louis Guide to the Science Center’s Growth from Planetarium to Museum Complex

The Saint Louis Science Center is one of St. Louis’s major public science institutions, occupying the southeastern corner of Forest Park. Its present-day campus grew out of a planetarium founded in 1963 and now includes a science museum, a planetarium and more than 750 exhibits spread across a complex exceeding 300,000 square feet.

The institution’s development involved several stages and locations. In 1972, the Museum of Science and Natural History in Oak Knoll Park, in suburban Clayton, began receiving financial support from sales-tax revenue distributed through the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District. That funding structure connected the museum to the broader network of St. Louis-area cultural and educational institutions.

A significant transition came in 1983, when the museum purchased the planetarium from the city and closed it for remodeling. The renovated facility reopened on July 20, 1985, under the name Saint Louis Science Center. This change marked the evolution of the site from a standalone planetarium into a wider science-focused institution.

The next major expansion arrived in 1991. As part of a $34 million project, a new building opened on Oakland Avenue, south of Interstate 64 and across from the planetarium. The addition increased the Science Center’s size sevenfold. The new structure was built on land that had previously been occupied by the headquarters of the Falstaff Brewing Corporation.

The two principal parts of the complex are linked by a skybridge over Interstate 64. That connection is also a visible reminder of the Science Center’s unusual physical arrangement: its facilities sit on opposite sides of a major roadway while functioning as parts of one institution.

For St. Louis residents and visitors, the Science Center’s history is therefore a story of expansion as much as exhibits or buildings. It began with a planetarium, gained institutional support through the regional museum district, absorbed a remodeled facility and ultimately became a large campus with a science museum and planetarium. Its Forest Park setting and cross-highway layout distinguish it within the city’s cultural landscape.

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Further links listed by the Wikipedia page (not independently checked): - https://web.archive.org/web/20100125165028/http://www.mzdstl.org/History.htm - https://web.archive.org/web/20120404062839/http://www.slsc.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=zSJcZfHQYQo=&tabid=667 - https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22Saint+Louis+Science+Center%22&acc=on&wc=on - https://source.wustl.edu/2012/11/a-in-outreach-neuroscience-students-share-enthusiasm-about-brain-science/ - https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2013/06/24/st-louis-science-center-deflates-exploradome-to-make-way-for-expansion-video - https://www.slsc.org/omnimax-theater-will-be-transformed-with-next-generation-imax-with-laser/ Image rights Photograph description: Built in 2006-2007, this Contemporary building was designed by Cannon Design for Saint Louis University to serve as a medical science research facility. The building is clad in brick and metal panels, with ribbon windows, a skybridge linking the eastern stairwell to the rest of the building, and a teardrop-shaped footprint, giving the building a distinctive appearance. The building today serves as Creator: w_lemay. License: CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0). Original image page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEdward_A._Doisy_Research_Center%2C_St._Louis_University%2C_Grand_Boulevard%2C_The_Gate%2C_St._Louis%2C_MO.jpg. The image was resized for display; no other changes were made.