McWane Science Center
Encyclopedia
The McWane Science Center (formerly known as the McWane Center) is a science museum and research archive located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

 (USA). The state-of-the-art science center, aquarium and 280-seat IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...

 Dome Theater is housed in the historic and refurbished Loveman's
Loveman's of Alabama
Loveman's of Alabama was a Birmingham, Alabama-based chain of department stores with locations across Alabama. It adopted this name to distinguish it from Loveman's department stores operating in Chattanooga, Tennessee and in Nashville, Tennessee.-History :...

 department store building. It opened to the public on July 11, 1998.

Inside are more than 9000 square feet (836.1 m²) of interactive exhibits, including the Challenger Learning Center of Alabama, created in memory of the Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...

 Flight 51-L crew. The World of Water exhibit showcases more than 50 species of marine and freshwater aquatic life.

The Alabama Collections Center is the home for more than 500,000 artifacts from the former Red Mountain Museum. The center houses precious minerals, fossils and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 artifacts. Highlights in the collection include the world's fourth-largest collection of mosasaurs; the Appalachiosaurus
Appalachiosaurus
Appalachiosaurus is a genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of eastern North America. Like almost all theropods, it was a bipedal predator. Only a juvenile skeleton has been found, representing an animal over 7 meters long and weighing over...

 (similar to Tyrannosaurus); and the state fossil of Alabama, the Basilosaurus cetoides (an 80 feet (24 m) fossil whale).

The McWane Science Center is named after the McWane family and McWane, Inc.
McWane
McWane, Inc. is one of the world's largest manufacturers of iron water works and plumbing products and one of America’s largest privately owned companies. The company manufactures products including ductile iron pipe and fittings, fire hydrants, cast iron soil pipe and fittings, and related products...

both of which helped fund the center.

External links

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