The MichiganScience Center is a science museum in Detroit, Michigan. It is located at the site of the former Detroit Science Center which closed in 2011. The Michigan Science Center was formed as a new non-profit organization and purchased the assets of the Detroit Science Center. The Michigan Science Center opened December 26, 2012. The Michigan Science Center has Michigan’s only Chrysler IMAX Dome Theatre; the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium; the DTE Energy Sparks Theater; the Chrysler Science Stage; a Science Hall for traveling exhibits; hands-on exhibit galleries focusing on space, life and physical science; the United States SteelFun Factory; an exhibit gallery just for pint-size scientists; and more.
History
Dexter Ferry is credited for the vision and dedication that led to the creation of the Detroit Science Center; the Detroit-area businessman and philanthropist founded the center in 1970. In 1978, the DSC moved to its Midtown, Detroit, facility designed by Master Architect William Henry Kessler of Detroit-based William Kessler Associates in the midtown cultural center adjacent to the Detroit Institute of Arts and Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The center was closed briefly in the early 1990s after losing funding from the State of Michigan, but re-opened in 1991. The Detroit Science Center operated until 1999 when it closed for construction on a $30 million renovation and expansion - tripling the available exhibit space and adding new theater and performance areas. Neumann/Smith Architecture completed the . addition and. renovation. The Detroit Science Center had a grand re-opening celebration in July 2001 and continued to expand, adding a new Digital Dome Planetarium in December 2001 and a 4D Toyota Engineering Theater in 2008. In partnership with the Thompson Educational Foundation, the Detroit Science Center embarked in April 2008 on another expansion of. to create a new college-prep charter school named University Prep Science & Math Middle School on its downtown campus. The school facility has classrooms, a gymnasium with locker rooms, food service, and offices, and shares conference space and lobby with the Detroit Science Center. Two Detroit companies completed the new addition, GunnLevine Architects and DeMaria Building Company. On September 26, 2011, the Detroit Science Center closed due to monetary issues. Several planned events, programs, and trips were either postponed or rescheduled to take place at the Detroit Children's Museum. On September 7, 2012, local Detroit news reports indicated that a new organization, the Michigan Science Center, would open and operate the facility. A spokesperson stated funding over the past year had been "significant" but did not disclose numbers. A board of directors for the Michigan Science Center first met on September 10, 2012. The Michigan Science Center began operations on December 26, 2012.
