Science Center Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It opened in June of 1976, one of the first attractions at Baltimore's new Inner Harbor.

Ron Matz has more on how science has been merging with entertainment and bringing thousands of people downtown.

Nearly every morning, you'll see school buses and big crowds waiting to enter the Maryland Science Center. Students from the William S. Baer School have been here before.

"We have actually participated in three field trips here to the Science Center and the kids love it. It is really an engaging learning day for our boys and girls," said Principal Patrick Crouse.

The Science Center is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Jim O'Leary has been there since the beginning and remembers the first day.

"I remember the first time we opened. It was a rush at the last minute to get all the exhibits ready and get the planetarium running," O'Leary said. "People appreciated it when we opened. It was a lot of fun to see people come in and realize that Baltimore had its own science museum at the time, a hands-on science museum."

And when it was ready, it was hands on. Dinosaurs are always a big draw.

"Right now, we have a permanent dinosaur exhibit, which is a great attraction, but before that, we had a number of traveling dinosaur exhibits, including the animatronic dinosaurs, which would move and growl and follow you a little bit, which the kids really loved," O'Leary said. "It's a good educational experience for the children. They come out of school and get a chance to see some things that they may have learned about but they have a hands on experience here."

From the planetarium to IMAX, a hit for all ages.

First year attendance here, 25,000. Now half a million visitors a year come to the Maryland Science Center.

"We had 25,000 the first year, which at the time was great; it was fantastic. But now 500,000. That includes people we welcome at the Science Center but also our outreach at schools with teachers around the state," O'Leary said.

Tuesday, the Maryland Science Center outreach includes three traveling vans, which take science programs to schools in all parts of the state.