Vote for the Saint Louis Science Center!

The Saint Louis Science Center has been recognized as one of the top science centers and free museums in the United States of America! We’re honored that Newsweek magazine has nominated our institution for their Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Free Museum category. We hope that you will vote for us!   Voting has… Continue reading

Iron Lung

Iron Lung – ca. 1940 On this day in 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, better known as the March of Dimes. The organization was founded to combat polio, an infectious disease that affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem. In its most severe form, polio can… Continue reading

Motor Magazine

Motor Magazine – October 1941 What do the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty have in common? They were both designed by French architect and structural engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. Eiffel designed the internal structure of the statue, a flexible, skeletal system to support the 100 tons of copper plate affixed to the outside and… Continue reading

Mogollon Bowl

Mogollon Bowl – ca. 1100-1200 A.D. Have you ever heard of first day covers and first day of issue stamps? First day covers are stamped envelopes or postcards with a postmarked postage stamp on the first day of issue authorized for use. With the postmark applied, it prevents the postage stamp from being reused, but… Continue reading

First Day Cover and Postage Stamps

First Day Cover and Postage Stamps – Issue Date September 23, 1978 Who remembers spending hours playing with model trains like this one? This sleek steam locomotive was made by Lionel Manufacturing Company in 1950 and features the 4-4-2-wheel configuration. This means it has four wheels in the front, four in the middle, and two… Continue reading

Model Train Locomotive

Model Train Locomotive – ca. 1950 Who remembers spending hours playing with model trains like this one? This sleek steam locomotive was made by Lionel Manufacturing Company in 1950 and features the 4-4-2-wheel configuration. This means it has four wheels in the front, four in the middle, and two in the back. Many of you… Continue reading

Polaroid Land Camera Model 95

Polaroid Land Camera Model 95 – ca. 1948-1953 Did you know that the first Polaroid camera went on sale 75 years ago? This model, the Model 95, is the first instant picture camera manufactured by the Polaroid Corporation. At least 1.5 million of these models were made, each with the folding viewfinder and using the… Continue reading

Art Print, “Science!”

Art Print, “Science!” – ca. 2015 They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that is certainly true in this instance! This original art print brings together two icons that have more in common than you might think, the James S. McDonnell Planetarium and the TARDIS. Each one can transport you through time… Continue reading

Halite Mineral

Halite Mineral, Collected in California No, this is not a big chunk of ice. This is a specimen of halite, a mineral that forms cubic crystals of sodium chloride, or salt. That’s right, this is a naturally occurring piece of rock salt! And although halite is turned into salt for the dinner table, you shouldn’t… Continue reading

Teacup Holder

Teacup Holder, Russia, 1958 October 4th is an important date in the history of aerospace. Why? Because of the silver ball depicted streaking through space on this Russian teacup holder. That silver ball is Sputnik 1, the first human-made satellite launched into space, an event which opened the way for human exploration of space. This… Continue reading