Discovery Place
 | |
| Established | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Location | 301 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA |
| Visitors | 520,000 (as of 2009) |
| Director | Catherine Wilson Horne |
| Website | Discovery Place |
Discovery Place is a science and technology museum for visitors of all ages located in the Uptown area of Charlotte, North Carolina. Discovery Place brings science to life through hands-on interactive exhibits, thrilling activities and experiments, a larger-than-life IMAX Dome Theatre, and boundless other educational opportunities and programs. The Museum, which first opened in 1981, recently underwent an 18-month, $31.6 million renovation that transformed it into a reimagined state-of-the-art science and technology museum. The most recent exhibition additions to Discovery Place include Fantastic Frogs and Alien Worlds and Androids. The new fall exhibition, Dinosaurs in Motion, opens October 4, 2014.
Discovery Place also operates an IMAX Dome Theatre, sometimes referred to as an OMNIMAX theatre. Discovery Place's Charlotte Observer IMAX Dome Theatre offers an immersive, up-close movie experience in the largest IMAX Dome Theatre in the Carolinas.
Renovation and expansion
Discovery completed a renovation in June 2010 that began in January 2009. This $31.6 million renovation was a complete overhaul which brought all new innovative and interactive science and technology exhibits to the Museum.[1]
Charlotte Nature Museum
Discovery Place operates Charlotte Nature Museum, located at 1658 Sterling Road, adjacent to Freedom Park. The Museum features interactive nature exhibits and live animal displays, including a Butterfly Pavilion, live species, insects and a variety of native North Carolina animals.
Discovery Place KIDS
In Fall 2010, Discovery Place opened its first Discovery Place KIDS Museum in Huntersville, North Carolina.[2][3] Part of a larger vision to develop other Discovery Place KIDS locations across the region,[4] Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville appeals to families with young children and offers those living in outlying suburban communities the opportunity to visit a Discovery Place Museum closer to home. An $18.7 million public-private venture between Discovery Place, Inc. and the City of Huntersville, Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville offers unique, learning-through-play experiences for young children. A second Discovery Place KIDS opened in Rockingham, North Carolina in February 2013.
Discovery Place, Inc. also offers off-site educational experiences to community groups and schools throughout N.C. and S.C. through its ScienceReach program.
References
- ^ "Science Rediscovered". The Charlotte Observer. 2010-06-20. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- ^ "Discovery Place Kids nears its fall opening". The Charlotte Observer. 2010-05-23. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
- ^ "Now Opening: Discovery Place Kids". The Charlotte Observer. 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- ^ "Discovery Place Announces Discovery Place KIDS Rockingham". WSOC-TV. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
External links
- Discovery Place - includes Charlotte Nature Museum