McWane Science Center Information

McWane Science Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) science center, children’s museum, natural history museum, aquarium, and IMAX® Dome Theater. McWane is the result of the merger of Red Mountain Museum and Discovery Place. Together with government officials, private corporations and foundations, and some very dedicated individuals, McWane opened in downtown Birmingham on July 11, 1998. McWane’s serves Pre-K- through 12th grade students and teachers with educational programs and activities in our museum exhibitions and on-site classrooms as well as our McWane on the Move outreach programs across Alabama. We are serving as a hub for the STEM Learning Ecosystem championed by the Governor. McWane’s natural history collection houses over half-a-million objects and specimens related to the archaeology, paleontology, and zoology of Alabama. The McWane Collection is both a Federal and State repository and serves as a center for scientific research.