Welcome to your science center.

The Saint Louis Science Center welcomes visitors of all backgrounds and ability levels. Our facility is accessible to visitors with disabilities, as well as visitors with strollers, scooters, and walkers.

Parking

The Oakland Building parking lot features parking for vehicles displaying disabled placards. Visitors may wish to drop off individuals with mobility concerns in the circle drive in front of the Oakland building.

Disability Grievance Procedure

It is the policy of the Saint Louis Science Center not to discriminate on the basis of disability. The Saint Louis Science Center has adopted a grievance procedure which provides for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints which allege any action prohibited by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and applicable state law.

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Strollers, Wheelchairs, and Motorized Scooters

Elevators and ramps serve all public areas, including the OMNIMAX® Theater, McDonnell Planetarium, and GROW Pavilion and Gallery. Convenient wheelchair-accessible seating for the OMNIMAX is available via the third floor theater entrance.

As noted above, wheelchairs and strollers are free to rent and are available in the lobbies of the Oakland Building and the McDonnell Planetarium. The Science Center also has a limited number of motorized scooters available for a $25 fee. Please ask a Guest Services team member and they will be happy to assist you. Please note that supplies are limited.

Closed Captioning and Assistive Hearing Devices

OMNIMAX Theater

The Omnimax Theater has enhanced accessibility experience for everyone. This includes:

More accessible seating space for visitors in wheelchairs and their guests available on the 3rd floor. Guests who are in wheelchairs, use walkers, or have difficulty with stairs should enter via the 3rd floor.
New adjustable captioning devices allow visitors to see captions for their film by using a cupholder device that they can adjust within their view. This are available for all films. They are Dolby Captiview devices.
New hearing assistance devices with optional Descriptive Video Services (DVS). This allows visitors with visual and hearing impairments to hear audio more clearly or hear descriptive narration of the film alongside film audio through headphones. DVS/Descriptive Narration is available for all films unless otherwise noted.
A hearing loop assisted listening system is installed in the Theater. Visitors can just switch their hearing aid or cochlear implant to the T-Coil (telecoil) setting, and the theater audio is directly transmitted to their device. Compatible with at least 70% of hearing aids currently in use. If visitors do not have a device with a T-Coil we also have headphones available that amplify the theater audio.

 

To access these devices or for more information speak with an OMNIMAX theater staff member.


James S. McDonnell Planetarium
The McDonnell Planetarium also offers hearing assist devices for star shows. When calling in for a group reservation, please let your reservationist know you’re interested in a hearing assist device.

Service Animals

Service animals are welcome inside the Science Center as they are specifically trained to aid a person with a disability. Pets are not allowed.

KultureCity® Sensory Bags


In partnership with KultureCity®, 11 sensory bags are available at the Saint Louis Science Center! These bags hold a collection of items that may help calm overstimulating situations and are available to our visitors free of charge in the main lobby at the box office. These are first come first served and must be returned to the box office upon leaving.

The Sensory Bag has the following items:

  • Noise-Canceling Headphones
  • Wacky Track Fidget
  • Monkey Tube Fidget
  • Marble Fidget
  • Visual Cue Card/Feeling Thermometer
  • KultureCity® VIP Lanyards

 

An optional sensory item is the weighted lap pad! There are two available upon request.

In addition to the sensory bags, we have new areas to help calm some of our overstimulated visitors! You can recognize them from signs around the building:

  • Quiet Area: These places are quieter in the building or a good place to go to if you need a quieter setting.
  • Headphone Zone: These places that are consistently louder in building, such as Energy Stage or GameXPloration, where headphones can make the area quieter.

You can request these items at our Visitor Service area in the main lobby of the Science Center.

Groups & Camps

Groups with accessibility questions or special programming requests should contact our Group Sales Manager at 314.286.4680.

A Safe Place


Project Safe Place is a national crisis prevention program for children and teens. Youth In Need is the regional provider of Safe Place services in eastern Missouri. If a young person needs help for any reason, they can go to any business displaying the yellow and black Safe Place sign. The Saint Louis Science Center is an official Safe Place site. This means Science Center staff are trained to call a designated help line that sends a Safe Place case worker to assess the situation, provide aid and pick up the child or teen if necessary. Project Safe Place is an accessible and confidential way for children and teens to get immediate help and provides an opportunity for them to act when a situation has become dangerous.

Why would a young person need Safe Place help? If they are: A runaway, lost, in danger, being abused, locked out of the house, kidnapped, having trouble at home or school, avoiding a bully, on an unsafe date or in the car with an unsafe or drunk driver.

Questions?

For questions or concerns about accessibility, or special programming, please contact our reservations team at 314.289.4424. Guest Service Comment Cards are also available upon request if you wish to provide feedback after your visit.