The California Science Center—a hands-on science center in Los Angeles—recently broke ground on its Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. At 200,000 square feet and 20 stories high, the Air and Space Center will almost double the California Science Center’s educational exhibit areas.
The new addition to the Science Center will contain 150 interactive, educational exhibits in three multilevel galleries. The hands-on exhibits will be designed to encourage visitors to investigate scientific and engineering principles of atmospheric flight and the exploration of the universe. The Air and Space Center’s collection of aircraft and spacecraft will be selected to illustrate a key concept on each of its three multilevel galleries—air, space, and shuttle—across four floors and 100,000 square feet of exhibit space.
The Air and Space Center also will become the permanent home of Space Shuttle Endeavour, one of three remaining flown space shuttle orbiters. Endeavour will be presented in a “ready-to-launch” vertical configuration that will include solid rocket boosters and an external tank—the world’s only display of an authentic space shuttle system, according to the Science Center. The June 1 groundbreaking event coincided with the 11th anniversary of Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final touchdown.
The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center marks the third phase of the California Science Center’s three-phase, three-decade master plan to develop one of the world’s leading science learning centers. Now underway, construction is expected to last three years. At about a year and a half into construction, Space Shuttle Endeavour will be positioned in the Air and Space Center. Architectural design is by ZGF, construction by MATT Construction, and exhibit design by Evidence Design.
On the project team:
Owner and developer: California Science Center Foundation
Design architect and architect of record: ZGF
MEP engineer and structural engineer: Arup
General contractor/construction manager: MATT Construction
Related Stories
Museums | Jan 11, 2018
Suzhou Science & Technology Museum will highlight new cultural district in Shishan Park
The 600,000-sf museum will be about 62 miles northwest of Shanghai.
Museums | Dec 12, 2017
History museum embodies the culture of the Oregon coast
The barnlike structure comprises 15,000 sf of space.
Museums | Oct 3, 2017
Denmark’s new LEGO experience hub looks like it’s made out of giant LEGO blocks
The 12,000-sm building is part of Billund, Denmark’s goal to become the ‘Capital for Children.’
Museums | Sep 28, 2017
Tunnel-boring machine will be the centerpiece of a planned 150,000-sf Metro Museum in Wuhan, China
GreenbergFarrow beat out five other design firms for the opportunity to design the museum.
Museums | Sep 15, 2017
Former basketball gym becomes Stanford Athletics ‘Home of Champions’
The Home of Champions uses interactive displays to showcase Stanford’s 126-year history of student athletes.
Museums | Sep 8, 2017
CAF announces plans for 20,000-sf Chicago Architecture Center to be built on East Wacker Drive
The Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed space will open in summer 2018.
Museums | Aug 15, 2017
Underground Railroad Visitor Center tells story of oppression, then freedom
The museum is conceived as a series of abstracted forms made up of two main structures, one administrative and one exhibit.
Museums | Jul 5, 2017
Addition by subtraction: Art Share L.A. renovation strips away its acquired superfluity
The redesign of the 28,000-sf building is prioritizing flexibility, openness, and connectivity.
Building Team Awards | Jun 7, 2017
Rising above adversity: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Gold Award: The Smithsonian Institution’s newest museum is a story of historical and construction resolve.
Architects | Jun 7, 2017
Build your very own version of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum with this new LEGO set
744 LEGO bricks are used to recreate the famous Wright design, including the 1992 addition.
