Venue: Saint Louis Science Center
Address: 5050 Oakland Avenue
Town: St. Louis, US

The Saint Louis Science Center, founded as a planetarium in 1963, is a collection of buildings including a science museum and planetarium in St. Louis, Missouri, on the southeastern corner of Forest Park. With over 750 exhibits in a complex of over 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2), it is among the largest of its type in the United States. See James S. McDonnell Planetarium. In 1972, the Museum of Science and Natural History, located in Oak Knoll Park in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton, began to receive funds from sales tax through the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District. In 1983, the museum purchased the Planetarium from the city, and closed it for remodeling. On July 20, 1985, the Planetarium reopened as the Saint Louis Science Center. On November 2, 1991, as part of a $34 million expansion, a new building opened across from the Planetarium south of I-64, on Oakland Avenue, increasing the size of the Science Center by a factor of seven. The new building was constructed on land that had previously been the site of the Falstaff Brewing Corporation headquarters. Connected to the Planetarium via a Skybridge over I-64, the new exhibits in the main building were devoted to Earth science, emerging technology, life sciences, physical science, and chemistry. Within two months, the newly remodeled St. Louis Science Center became the most visited science center in the world. One of the most recognizable features of the St. Louis Science Center is the five-story domed OMNIMAX theater, which shows a variety of educational films and documentaries year round. Occasionally, the theater features feature films as they are released, such as Star Wars. In 2019, the OMNIMAX theater underwent its first major renovations since opening in 1991, becoming the fourth OMNIMAX theater to use the IMAX with laser projection system. Other improvements include new state-of-the-art sound technology, a NanoSeam screen for a more uniform screen surface, and upgraded and wider seating. On