McWane Science Center
A science museum housed in a former downtown department store, with hands-on exhibits, dinosaur fossils, an aquarium and a dome theater that kids will love.
The science center is housed in a 1930s former department store building. Its four floors include hands-on physics exhibits, a children's water world, and fossils of Alabama dinosaurs and marine reptiles, including the Appalachian tyrannosaur (Appalachiosaurus). The lower level has a touch pool and an aquarium, and there is also an IMAX dome theater. Admission is about US$20, with the theater charged separately. It is on Second Avenue North, close to the Alabama Theatre and the Civil Rights District.
Opening hours
About 10:00–17:00 (check official website)
Nearby sights
- Alabama Theatre
- Carver Theatre – Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
- Kelly Ingram Park
- Railroad Park
- A.G. Gaston Motel – Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
- Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
- 16th Street Baptist Church
- Birmingham Museum of Art