Springfield Science Museum - Springfield, MA - Science Museums on Waymarking.com

Museum History
The origins of the Springfield Science Museum go back to 1859, the same year that Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species. The Museum was established as the Springfield Ethnological and Natural History Museum, "a collection of specimens of natural history and a repository of arts and curiosities, a Museum, in fact, of curious or instructive objects." The first collections were housed in a room in City Hall and consisted of Russian and Scandinavian peasant artifacts. The Museum remained in City Hall until 1871, when the collections were moved into a "museum room" in the then-new library building. When the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum opened in 1896, the natural history collections occupied a large room in that building.

The new Museum of Natural History held its grand opening on October 16, 1899. The imposing main entrance was what is now an office entrance on the side of the building. In 1934, the Museum was expanded to nearly triple its size with the main entrance facing the Quadrangle green.

The Museum’s Seymour Planetarium opened in 1937, the oldest American-built planetarium in the world. The Science Museum’s telescope and observatory were dedicated in 1972. The name of the Museum was changed to the Springfield Science Museum in 1961 to reflect the country’s entry into the space age and the Museum’s increasing emphasis on physical science.

Museum Exhibits
Visitors to the Springfield Science Museum will find a world filled with the wonders of natural and physical science. The Museum also is home to a live animal center with fish, insects, reptiles and amphibians in such realistic natural habitats as an Amazon rainforest, coral reef, and New England harbor.

In Dinosaur Hall delight in our full sized replica of Tyrannosaurus rex which towers over you, and also peer directly into his fierce jaws from a window on the second floor. Be on safari in our R.E. Phelon African Hall which takes you from the plains of an African savannah up to a bird’s eye view of the animals, including lions, a huge African elephant, a giraffe and an ostrich. African Hall also offers a glimpse of several traditional African cultures.

You can take imaginary voyages to the farthest corners of the universe in the Seymour Planetarium. Just outside the planetarium, you’ll walk beneath a replica of the solar system and touch rocks from outer space. Earth Hall will amaze you with its extensive collection of crystals, minerals, and fossils. Aviation buffs won't want to miss the 1937 Zeta aircraft, one of only three remaining Springfield built Gee Bee airplanes. In the MASSPOWER Science Discovery Laboratory, families can experiment to discover the mysteries of everyday science.

Name: Springfield Science Museum Location/Address: 21 Edwards Street Springfield, MA USA 01103 Telephone Number: 413-263-6800 Web Site: [Web Link] Type/Specialty: Unknown Agency/Ownership: City of Springfield, Massachusetts Educational programs: Museum school. Family activities on weekends and scool vacation weeks. Theater: Unknown Hours of operation: Monday: Closed, Tuesday - Sunday: 11 am to 4 pm Admission Fee: $10 Gift Shop: yes Cafe/Restaurant: At nearby art museum Other Features: Admission is valid at all five Springfield Quadrangle Museums

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/05/2012 urpickle visited it 08/03/2012 Lightnin Bug visited it 10/07/2011 Facedances visited it 04/21/2011 neoc1 visited it 06/26/2010 Metro2 visited it 09/20/2008 ODragon visited it

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