Read our most recent statement of accountability by clicking here:
FY10 Statement of Accountability

Science Matters.
Already recognized as a leader in inquiry-based learning, the Louisville Science Center is advancing a science literacy campaign to encourage people of all ages to explore science in everyday life.  The Louisville Science Center has a rich history, from its founding as a “cabinet of curiosities” in the Public Library System of Kentucky in 1871 to its current status as the region’s leading resource for informal science education. Boasting at one time little more than an Egyptian mummy and a 16,000-piece mineral collection, the Science Center is now the largest hands-on science center in Kentucky, with about 150 interactive exhibits and activity stations, a four-story IMAX Theatre, teaching laboratories, educational programs, and distance learning capabilities. Designated the “State Science Center of Kentucky” by the 2002 Kentucky General Assembly, the Louisville Science Center features interactive exhibits and engaging programs for children, families and adults. The Louisville Science Center is committed to growing a scientifically literate community that investigates, questions, and challenges.

Hands-on Science Exploration
In 1992, our Board of Directors established the Science Center’s mission to improve the public’s understanding of science, math, and technology through interactive exhibits, IMAX® films, and programs that are entertaining as well as educational. With a strategic plan centered on building permanent exhibits and creating educational programming, we set out to reach our destination.

The World We Create opened in 1997. This 12,500 square-foot permanent exhibit lets visitors make use of their creative and problem-solving skills. Over 40 activity stations involving the fields of chemistry, physics, engineering, telecommunications, and manufacturing encourage visitors to discover how math, science, and technology are at work in their everyday lives. Hands-on demonstrations and lively interactive presentations are made daily in the Tech Forum and Chemistry Kitchen. Traveling versions of The World We Create have appeared in museums across the United States, as well as in 19 rural Kentucky counties and the Netherlands.  

A special hands-on area for children younger than seven was renovated and renamed KidZone in 1998. Six activity areas allow children to explore the world brought down to their size. Take Off! features a climbing structure and airplane, Hop On! offers an ambulance and mass-transit bus, and Blast Off! features a lunar model. Let’s Build! puts kids at the controls in a construction area. Explore! is a safe crawling area for infants and pre-walkers. The new Splash! water play area, which opened in February 2009,  allows children to build and race boats down a two-lane track, and manipulate pipes and tubing to experiment with water flow. We’ve incorporated age-appropriate science concepts into the exhibits to make KidZone educational and fun for little hands and minds.

The World Within Us opened in 2001. Health and life sciences are the focus of this 10,500 square-foot permanent exhibit that encompasses 75 interactive components. Three galleries provide user-friendly, fact-based information to help visitors learn about good health. The BodyWatch Gallery takes the visitor on a journey inside seven body systems and examines how each works. In the TimeZone Gallery, exhibit activities help visitors make wise decisions about healthy living at every stage of life. The Breakthrough Gallery showcases the accomplishments and careers of regional medical researchers, our own “Science Heroes.” The BioLab is a high-tech demonstration wet lab for life sciences programs.

The World Around Us, the final phase of our permanent exhibits plan, opened in September of 2005. In this 8,000 square-foot natural and earth sciences exhibit, visitors explore their connections to the world, discovering that we all have an impact on the world around us – we all leave our ecological footprints. The exhibit consists of 23 interactive components that appeal to visitors of all ages, interests, and abilities. Integral to the project is the Discovery Gallery, which re-introduces the public to historic Science Center favorites such as the mummy and the polar bears.

On a Science Literacy Mission
We’ve come so far that we have used all our available space. In summer 2009, we opened a Science Education Wing with four science workshop labs, each accommodating 20-40 persons and equipped for hands-on participation, to be used for student workshops, teacher training, parent mentoring, and educational summer camps. Programs for students and teachers correspond to the core curriculum areas of physical, natural and life sciences that are treated in the Science Center’s permanent exhibits. The Science Education Wing is connected through a door to KidZone and is designed for guided interaction between children and their teachers, parents and caregivers.

The Louisville Science Center is committed to expanding its capacity as a leader in science, math, technology and engineering. Improved science literacy will impact our community by encouraging scientific inquiry skills that are critical to workforce development and future innovation. Creative thinking, effective problem solving, open mindedness, and the encouragement of curiosity allow us to explore the world with fresh eyes. The hallmarks of good science should be embraced by everyone and the Louisville Science Center will continue to work to make science personal, fun, participatory and relevant for our community, state and region for generations to come. Science matters, and the Louisville Science Center will continue to work to encourage hands-on science investigation that harnesses curiosity and prepares our future leaders for the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century. 

Louisville Science Center Board of Directors