Science Center of Iowa
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Des Moines, Iowa
 The main entrance to the Science Center of Iowa | |
  Location within Iowa | |
| Location | 401 W Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway Des Moines, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°34′57″N 93°37′19″W / 41.5826°N 93.6219°W |
| Website | https://www.sciowa.org/ |
The Science Center of Iowa is a science museum located in Des Moines, Iowa.
The museum opened in 1970 in Greenwood-Ashworth Park and was called the Des Moines Center of Science and Industry.[1] It was renamed the Science Center of Iowa in 1985.[1] It moved to its current location in 2005.[1]
The construction of the Des Moines Center of Science and Industry was initially sponsored by the Junior League of Des Moines. The first location seriously considered was Union Park, a park in the East side of Des Moines on the Des Moines River. In 1965, fund raising began in earnest, with an anonymous $100,000 donation and $30,000 from the Junior League.[2][3] In 1969, the Des Moines City Council proposed, and the Des Moines Park Board unanimously approved, constructing the museum on a 4.5-acre tract within Greenwood-Ashworth Park (the park in which the Des Moines Art Center was also located). The proposed cost was $900,000.[4]
The Junior League donated an additional $10,000 for the construction of a Foucault pendulum, suspended on a 65 foot long wire.[3]
The museum contained the Sargent Planetarium, which could seat 135 people under a 40-foot dome. An image of the night sky was projected by a $27,000 Spitz A4 projector. The full cost of the planetarium was $50,000.[5][6]
The museum's first director was Robert Bridigum,[5] the planetarium's first director was Herb Schwartz,[7] and Bill Synhorst was the first exhibit director.[8]
In 2005, the Science Center moved to a new downtown location.
