Kenny Wallace > Kids Club > Life Science Lab > Run For The Stars > Saint Louis Science Center named to Parents Magazine's list of 10 best Science Centers for families

For Immediate Release
August 13, 2008

For further information, contact:

Beth Bishop McClure, Saint Louis Science Center
214.289.1455 or ebishop@slsc.org

Saint Louis Science Center Named to Parents Magazine List of 10 Best Science Centers For Families
St. Louis Museum in Top Tier of List Determined by Extensive National Survey

ST. LOUIS - The Saint Louis Science Center announced today it has been named one of the 10 Best Science Centers for Families by Parents, the leading national parenting magazine, ranking ahead of similar institutions in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. The Science Center is fifth on the list, which includes science and technology museums located in cities from coast to coast.

The 10-Best article recognizes the Center's Discovery Room, which caters to young scientists, its newly-published Children's Gallery Guide and the ever-popular Science Goes Splat demonstration, "a show where balls, water balloons, and even pumpkins are tossed out a third-floor window -- and the audience gets to guess which one will fall the fastest."

"We are honored, not only to receive this distinction, but especially to be included in the top half of a very impressive list of our counterparts," said Doug King, President and CEO of the Saint Louis Science Center.

This is the second major acknowledgment for the Science Center in a national publication. Recently, Forbes Traveler Magazine named the Science Center one of America's most visited museums - the only museum in Missouri to be named to that list.

Parents narrowed its list from the more than 150 science centers in the United States. To determine which science centers are the most exciting and educational, Parents administered and analyzed an extensive survey, requesting details about exhibits as well as science demonstrations, special events, camps and classes. The magazine also considered the stroller-friendliness of the facility; dining options; the quality of the staff; conveniences like family restrooms; and whether the center was a good value based on the admission price in relation to the number of exhibits.

Part of Parents' ongoing series of 10-Best articles, the survey in the September issue points out that about 50 of the nation's 150-plus science centers have special exhibit areas exclusively for young children and their families. According to Parents' research, science centers, always favorites of the teen and "tween" crowd, are now looking to inspire kids under age 8.

"The science centers we profiled make learning fun for young children," says Sally Lee, editor-in-chief of Parents magazine. "So when kids begin studying the subject in school, they'll be enthusiastic about it."

This falls in line with the Science Center's mission "to ignite and sustain lifelong science and technology learning" and coincides with upcoming events and new galleries geared for families and science education.

"Science education is so important to our society," said King. "With programs like the ones highlighted in this article, we hope we can ignite kids' interest in science early, so they're more likely to continue that education, perhaps even eventually choosing a career in science."

Upcoming family events at the Saint Louis Science Center include SciFest 08, a science festival which will feature fun and serious sessions for adults and special programming for kids; the opening of a brand new, fully-functioning Life Science Lab, in which visitors will be able to conduct real science experiments; and the openings of several new films about the Great Lakes, Sharks and the Grand Canyon in the OMNIMAX Theater. Also, the Science Center launched recently a KIDS CLUB for kids ages 4-12.

According to the Parents survey, the 10 Best Science Centers for Families in order of their ranking are:

1. Center of Science and Industry (COSI), Columbus, Ohio
2. Exploratorium, San Francisco, California
3. Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts
4. Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, New Jersey
5. Saint Louis Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri
6. New York Hall of Science, Flushing, New York
7. California Science Center, Los Angeles
8. Sci-Port Discovery Center, Shreveport, Louisiana
9. The Franklin (formerly The Franklin Institute), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
10. Maryland Science Center, Baltimore

Full results are available at parentsmag.com and in the magazines September issue, which is on newsstands Tuesday, August 19. 

For more information or to book an interview with a Saint Louis Science Center representative, contact Beth Bishop McClure at 314.267.9916 or at ebishop@slsc.org. For more information on the Saint Louis Science Center, visit slsc.org. To speak with an editor from Parents, contact Susan Soriano at 212.499.1627 or at Susan.Soriano@meredith.com.

Trademarks:
Thank you for your interest in covering the Saint Louis Science Center. We ask that you include the full names of our institution: Saint Louis Science Center, OMNIMAX Theater, and James S. McDonnell Planetarium when writing your story. 

Saint Louis Science Center
The Saint Louis Science Center is one of the top five science centers in the United States, serving 1.2 million visitors annually. The Saint Louis Science Center complex includes a four-story OMNIMAX Theater, the air-supported EXPLORADOME, the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, and the state-of-the-art Taylor Community Science Resource Center. The goals of the Saint Louis Science Center are to educate, inspire and motivate visitors of all ages and engage the community in public dialogue about science-related issues of the day. For more information about the Saint Louis Science Center and its programs, visit slsc.org.

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