St. Louis offers its residences and visitors many free, exciting attractions, one of those being the St. Louis Science Center. Located at 5050 Oakland Ave., the Science Center sits in Forest Park along with other free attractions like the St. Louis Zoo, the art museum, the history museum, and the Muny.

Named one of the top five science centers in the U.S., this St. Louis attraction has a lot to offer and continually changes various exhibits. Additionally, it made the list of Top 10 Science Centers for Families by Parents magazine and also one of America’s most visited museums by Forbes Traveler Magazine.

Home to over 700 exhibits, the Science Center offers its visitors knowledge and entertainment in every possible subcategory of science. The center consists of several buildings, including the OMNIMAX Theater, the EXPLORADOME and the James S. McDonnell Planetarium.

The OMNIMAX Theater regularly plays several different shows, such as the current movies, “To the Arctic,” “Rocky Mountain Express” and “Born to Be Wild.” This theater differs from others in that it creates an atmosphere that lets the audience believe they are part of the scene. As the picture and sound surrounds the audience, the incredible detail greatly affects the experience.

Another example, the planetarium, offers numerous interactive exhibits, such as demonstrations on the way in which eclipses and meteor showers work, a projection in the dome that imitates the starry sky, and the SBC Learning Center that shows visitors what living in a space station really is like.

In addition to its free and regular exhibits, the Science Center offers youth day and overnight activities for elementary school-aged children. Adult programs include Science Around Town, which are daylong trips that focus on scientific discoveries made in the St. Louis area. Participants visit the mines of Missouri or hunt for fossils. The adult flight academy offers interested participants the opportunity to be trained to use a flight simulator and end the program in an actual airplane to test your skills.

While some of the more specific programs and outside activities require an additional fee, the entire museum complex is free to all visitors. With more than 700 exhibits, it takes more than just one visit to cover all that the Science Center has to offer.