Exploreum - Mobile, AL - science through interactive and traveling exhibits

The Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center is located at 65 Government Street in Downtown Mobile off of Interstate 10 at the 26B exit. The center is non-profit and has three permanent exhibitions, a virtual theater, traveling exhibitions and an IMAX theater. The center opened during 1998 and by 2007 it had seen one and a half million visitors.

Mobile's Junior League provided the funding to research and development of an interactive museum for children during 1976. A private non-profit incorporation known as the Explorer Center and a Board of Trustees were the direct result of these efforts. Over one million dollars was raised to build the facility which opened during 1983 as the Gulf Coast Exploreum Museum of Science.

The building is adjacent to Bragg-Mitchell Mansion on Springhill Avenue. The facility outgrew the building less than four years later and during 1987 the committee that had been formed to relocate it decided that the historical area of downtown would be a good location. In 1998 the facility moved to its current location.

The Wharf of Wonder, Minds on Hall, My BodyWorks and Hands on Hall are the four permanent exhibits found at the Exploreum. There are fifty interactive exhibits that were custom designed for the facility in the My BodyWorks that was opened during the winter of 2009. Workforce development and human health are what the exhibit which was a community project by the Infirmary Health Foundation represented. There is also a biology lab where materials that further explore gallery topics are presented by the science educators.

There is a virtual reality exhibits featured in the Minds on Hall which is one of the original gallery's exhibits. There are over twenty exhibits in the feature. The Junior League of America did the Wharf of Wonder which features an optimal learning environment for everyone from infants to kindergarten. There are also a number of traveling exhibits at the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center which change on a regular basis.

The center is open from nine in the morning until five in the evening Monday through Friday, ten in the morning until five in the evening on Saturday. On Sunday the facility is open from noon until five in the evening. The second Monday of every month the facility closes for maintenance from one to five in the evening. The cost of admission varies depending on age and whether or not there is a membership held to the facility. The facility is not responsible for stolen or lost items. All children aged twelve and below have to have an adult chaperone with them. Visitors are asked not to touch the dinosaurs. Parking can be found in the downtown area.

The Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center has something for everyone. Anyone in the area of Mobile, Alabama should make it a point to stop by the center. Those requiring additional information about pricing, parking and directions to the facility should contact the center directly. Inquire about group rates and activities when contacting the facility.