Local Spotlight

The McWane Science Center is a science museum and research archive that is situated in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama, in the United States. It was formerly known as the McWane Center. In the former Loveman’s department store building, a state-of-the-art science center, aquarium, and 280-seat IMAX Dome Theater are housed. The public might enter on July 11, 1998.

More than 50 different kinds of marine and freshwater aquatic life are on display at the World of Water exhibit on the lower floor. Different species of small sharks and rays are in a touch tank. A microscope can be used to examine shark teeth, and there are several water pollution exhibits.

More than 500,000 objects from the former Red Mountain Museum are kept in the Alabama Collections Center (on the second floor). The center is home to priceless minerals, fossils, and Native American artifacts. Among the most notable exhibits are the Appalachiosaurus, a dinosaur related to Tyrannosaurus, the fourth-largest collection of mosasaurs in the world, and Basilosaurus cetoides, an 80-foot (24-m) long fossil whale that serves as Alabama’s state fossil.

The Itty Bitty Magic City exhibit, located on the second floor, is suitable for younger children. It includes a climbing frame, a water play area, a section just for toddlers, and a section with scaled-down representations of typical city structures. Every single one of the model homes is designed to aid young children in developing skills or fostering relationships with their parents. A model is one illustration.

For younger children, there is the Itty Bitty Magic City exhibit (on the second floor), which includes a climbing frame, a water play area, a section just for toddlers, and a section with scaled-down representations of typical city structures. All of the model structures are intended to aid young children in developing skills or fostering relationships with their parents. One illustration is a mock grocery store where kids may “shop” with their parents and learn about the different food groups. The exhibit, which replaced an older, identical early childhood play area that was once housed on the third level, debuted on May 16, 2015.

The McWane family and McWane, Inc., who both contributed to the center’s funding, are honored with the name of the McWane Science Center.