Akin to the Discovery Cube science museums but with a greater focus on exhibits of interest to teenagers and adults, the California Science Center has a few seriously impressive exhibits – including the Space Shuttle Endeavour inside a hangar, and a titanium A-12 Blackbird spy plane parked outside. There’s also a neat water ecosystem/habitat exhibit with a starfish touch tank, an IMAX theater for three science-themed films, and some public service announcement-caliber sections, such as a fire safety exhibit. As of the time of writing, rotating special exhibits include one on Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions, and another on “the science of fear.”
Notably, the Science Center is building a full air and space gallery around the Endeavour, which will be presented for the first time in vertical, launch-ready orientation with booster rocket tanks “several years” after it was moved off display in early 2024. Admission is currently free for the facility, but with charges for the special exhibits and IMAX films.
