Museums and science centers can play a critical role in sparking life-long interest in and understanding of science, engineering, and technology.

They offer a non-threatening, friendly environment where adults and students can explore without fear of being wrong, or admitting what they don't know.

Many museums have broad, updated resources that some schools do not have. They often also offer informal, interactive activities that complement local course curriculum. By helping the public investigate the natural world and explore why and how the human-made world works, science centers museums can also help equip young people -- and adults -- with the skills they need to live, work, and innovate in the 21st century.

Some museums and science centers also offer weekend or summer programs for precollege students, and some also offer programs for teachers, including lesson plans and activities for use in the classroom.  Many offer hands on experiences for exploring science, mathematics, engineering, computing, healthcare, and medicine or health applications.

Science Centers and Museums
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VIRTUAL	• Eniac Virtual Museum • Franklin Institute Virtual Science Museum • Heartland Science • IEEE Global History Network • National Center for Technological Literacy • The Virtual Fossil Museum
ALABAMA	• Anniston Museum of Natural History • Alabama Nature Center • Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center • Mann Museum • Sci-Quest, the North Alabama Science Center • U.S. Space & Rocket Center
ALASKA	• The Imaginarium
ARIZONA	• Arizona Science Center
ARKANSAS	• Museum of Discovery
CALIFORNIA	• Bay Area Discovery Museum • California Academy of Sciences • California Science Center • Columbia Memorial Space Science Learning Center • Coyote Point Museum For Environmental Education • Discovery Science Center • Ecology Hall of Fame • Exploratorium • Great Valley Museum of Natural History • Lawrence Hall of Science • Lindsay Wildlife Museum • Museum of Paleontology, University of California • Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County • Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center • San Diego Natural History Museum • Santa Barbara Maritime Museum • Tech Museum of Innovation
COLORADO	• Denver Museum of Nature & Science • Dinosaur Depot Museum • Discovery Center Science Museum • National Renewable Energy Laboratory Visitors Center
CONNECTICUT	• Children's Museum of Connecticut • Discovery Museum • DNA EpiCenter • Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
DELAWARE	• Delaware Museum of Natural History • Hagley Museum and Library • Iron Hill Museum/Delaware Academy of Science
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	• Marian Koshland Science Museum • National Children's Museum • National Air and Space Museum • National Museum of Health and Medicine • Smithsonian National Zoological Park
FLORIDA	• Emerald Coast Science Center • Florida Museum of Natural History • Great Explorations, The Hands On Museum • G.WIZ Hands-On Science Museum • Kennedy Space Center • Miami Science Museum • MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry) • Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery & Science • Orlando Science Center • South Florida Science Museum
GEORGIA	• Coca Cola Space Science Center • Georgia Museum of Natural History • Museum of Arts & Sciences • Museum of Aviation Flight & Technology Center • National Science Center (Fort Discovery) • Tellus Science Museum
HAWAII	• Bishop Museum • Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii • Pacific Tsunami Museum
IDAHO	• Discovery Center of Idaho • Idaho Museum of Natural History
ILLINOIS	• Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum • Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum • Children's Discovery Museum • Field Museum of Natural History • International Museum of Surgical Science • Lake County Discovery Museum • Lederman Science Education Center • Museum of Science and Industry • Orpheum Children's Science • SciTech Hands on Museum • The Science Center
INDIANA	• Children's Museum of Indianapolis • Terre Haute Childrens Museum • Science Central, Fort Wayne • WonderLab Museum of Health, Science, and Technology
IOWA	• Grout Museum District • Putnam Museum • Science Center of Iowa • Cedar Rapids Science Station
KANSAS	• Exploration Place • Great Plains Nature Center • Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center • Sternberg Museum of Natural History
KENTUCKY	• Explorium of Lexington • Highlands Museum & Discovery Center • Louisville Science Center • Owensboro Museum of Science and History
LOUISIANA	• Lafayette Science Museum • Louisiana Art and Science Museum • Louisiana Children's Museum • LSU Museum of Natural Science • Sci-Port Discovery Center
MAINE	• Children's Museum of Maine • Maine Discovery Museum (Bangor)
MARYLAND	• Discovery Station at Hagerstown • Maryland Science Center
MASSACHUSETTS	• Boston Children's Museum • EcoTarium • MIT Museum • Museum of Science, Boston • National Plastics Center and Museum • Springfield Science Museum • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
MICHIGAN	• Alfred P. Sloan Museum and Longway Planetarium • Flint Children's Museum • Impression 5 Science Center • Kelsey Museum of Archaeology • Kingman Museum • New Detroit Science Center
MINNESOTA	• Bell Museum of Natural History • Duluth Children's Museum • Headwaters Science Center • Science Museum of Minnesota
MISSISSIPPI	• Mississippi Museum of Natural Science • Russell C. Davis Planetarium
MISSOURI	• Discovery Center of Springfield • Pioneer Ridge Science Education Center • St. Louis Science Center • Science City at Union Station • The YouZeum
MONTANA	• ExplorationWorks • Museum of the Rockies • Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum
NEBRASKA	• Edgerton Explorit Center • Omaha Children's Museum • University of Nebraska State Museum
NEVADA	• Fleischmann Planetarium • Las Vegas Natural History Museum • Lied Discovery Children's Museum
NEW HAMPSHIRE	• Children's Museum of Portsmouth • Christa McAuliffe Planetarium • Mount Washington Observatory and Weather Center • SEE Science Center
NEW JERSEY	• Information Age Learning Center • Liberty Science Center • Newark Museum
NEW MEXICO	• Bradbury Science Museum • Explora • Las Cruces Museum of Natural History • LodeStar Astronomy Center • National Atomic Museum • National Radio Astronomy Observatory • New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science • New Mexico Museum of Space History
NEW YORK	• American Museum of Natural History • Brookhaven National Lab Science Museum • Buffalo Museum of Science • Center for Science Teaching & Learning • Dolan DNA Learning Center • Goudreau Museum of Mathematics in Art and Science • Long Island Museum of Science and Technology • Long Island Science Center • Museum of the Earth • Museum of Long Island Natural Sciences • New York Botanical Garden • New York Hall of Science • New York Transit Museum • Roberson Museum and Science Center • Rochester Museum & Science Center • Schenectady Museum • Sciencenter • The Discovery Center
NORTH CAROLINA	• Cape Fear Museum • Catawba Science Center • Discovery Place • Exploris • Health Adventure • Imagination Station • Mineral & Lapidary Museum of Henderson County • Morehead Planetarium and Science Center • Museum of Life and Science • Natural Science Center of Greensboro • North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences • North Carolina Transportation Museum • Rocky Mount Children's Museum & Science Center • Schiele Museum of Natural History • SciWorks
NORTH DAKOTA	• Gateway to Science
OHIO	• Boonshoft Museum of Discovery • Cincinnati Museum Center • Cleveland Museum of Natural History • Center of Science and Industry, Columbus • Imagination Station Toledo • Falls of the Ohio State Park & Interpretive Center • Great Lakes Science Center • National Inventors Hall of Fame • Ohio Center for History, Art and Technology
OKLAHOMA	• Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum
OREGON	• Evergreen Aviation Museum • Oregon Coast Aquarium • Oregon Museum of Science & Industry • Science Factory Children's Museum • ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum
PENNSYLVANIA	• Academy of Natural Science • Carnegie Science Center • Children's Museum of Pittsburgh • Da Vinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology • Franklin Institute • Frost Entomological Museum • National Canal Museum • National Watch & Clock Museum • North Museum of Natural History and Science • Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center • Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts
RHODE ISLAND	• Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology • Museum of Natural History and Cormack Planetarium
SOUTH CAROLINA	• Coastal Discovery Museum • EdVenture Children's Museum • Roper Mountain Science Center • ScienceSouth
SOUTH DAKOTA	• Kirby Science Discovery Center • South Dakota Discovery Center & Aquarium
TENNESSEE	• Adventure Science Center • American Museum of Science and Energy • Children's Museum of Memphis • Creative Discovery Museum • Discovery Center at Murfree Spring • East Tennessee Discovery Center • Hands On! Regional Museum • Hands-On Science Center • Pink Palace Family of Museums
TEXAS	• Austin Children's Museum • Children's Museum of Houston • Cook Education Center • Dallas Museum of Natural History • Discovery Science Place • Fort Worth Museum of Science • Heard Natural Science Museum • Health Museum • Houston Museum of Natural Science • Johnson Space Center • Mayborn Planetarium & Space Theater • McDonald Observatory Visitor's Center • Museum of Health and Medical Science • Museum of Nature & Science • Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum • Sci-Tech Discovery Center • Science Spectrum • Southwest Museum of Science and Technology
UTAH	• BYU Earth Science Museum • Children's Museum of Utah • Clark Planetarium • Utah Museum of Natural History
VERMONT	• ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain • Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium • Montshire Museum of Science
VIRGINIA	• National Maritime Center • Science Museum of Virginia • Science Museum of Western Virginia • Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum • Virginia Air and Space Center • Virginia Aviation Museum • Virginia Discovery Museum • Virginia Living Museum • Virginia Museum of Natural History
WASHINGTON	• Columbia River Exhibition • Mindport Exhibits • MOBIUS • Pacific Science Center • Palouse Discovery Science Center • Three Rivers Children's Museum
WEST VIRGINIA	• Avampato Discovery Museum • SMART-Center
WISCONSIN	• BioTrek: The Museum of Living Sciences • Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin • Fox Cities Children's Museum • Milwaukee Public Museum • Weis Earth Science Museum
WYOMING	• The Science Zone