Fleet Science Center

The Fleet Science Center is a science museum and planetarium in central Balboa Park. The museum was established in 1973 and was the first science museum to combine interactive science exhibits with a planetarium and an IMAX Dome theater.

The museum features over 100 interactive science exhibits in 8 galleries that host a program for both Visiting Exhibitions and Permanent Exhibitions in the galleries.

The Dome Theater usually features multiple IMAX films, and the planetarium shows focus on the current appearance of the sky or current topics in astronomy.

The Fleet Science Center connects people of all ages to the possibilities and power of science, and the museum’s mission is:

” to realize a San Diego where everyone is connected to the power of science.”

For young science enthusiasts, the museum hosts school field trips, science workshops, and educational camps. For adults, community programs provide science events and professional development opportunities.

Electrical charges and phosphoric gases mingle to create lightning in a bottle  

Highlights of the Fleet Science Center

• Interactive Tornado Exhibit
• Kid City – for kids five and under
• Tinkering Studio – interactive create and invent exhibits
• The Giant Dome Theater
• Cellular Journey Exhibit
• Origins in Space Exhibit
• Water from Source to Tap Exhibit
• Executing a shuttle landing in a simulated NASA control room
• Controlling the winds exhibit to create sand dunes

Interactive Tornado exhibit