Hundreds of schoolchildren and a crew of astronauts gathered in Exposition Park on Friday to open the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center.
The 200,000-square-foot expansion serves as the permanent home for the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The spacecraft towers 20 stories tall in a vertical launch position.
Museum officials describe the display as the world’s only complete and authentic space shuttle system configured for launch. It is flanked by two solid rocket boosters and an external tank.
Visitors can tour multiple levels surrounding the spacecraft. Attractions include a glass-floor observation platform above the orbiter, a tubular descent slide simulating re-entry, and an International Space Station fly-through simulator.
The facility features air race flight simulators that place visitors in the pilot’s seat of iconic aircraft. Interactive exhibits allow people to operate drones over a scale model of Los Angeles.
On Friday, 800 schoolchildren arrived to explore the new galleries and interact with 30 astronauts present for the opening. Participating students toured the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center alongside the astronauts.
Television producer and co-creator Chuck Lorre and Young Sheldon star Iain Armitage stood near the Shuttle Descent Slide. The feature was named “with Support from Young Sheldon” to honor a major contribution from The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. The 45-foot shuttle descent slide saw its first riders in Chuck Lorre and Iain Armitage.
Lynda Oschin celebrated the debut. “It's there, and it's framed now, and it's in there forever,” Lynda Oschin said, recalling how a photograph of her late husband Samuel Oschin was placed in the commander's seat when Endeavour was transported from Houston to California, a request honored by former NASA head Charles Bolden.
“I was fortunate to command Endeavour on its final mission, and I know firsthand what this spacecraft represents: American ingenuity and the determination to do things that once seemed impossible,” said Senator Kelly. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, who commanded Endeavour on its final mission.
Federal, state, county, and science center officials joined the celebrations alongside project principals. U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Mark Kelly attended, as did Representatives Sydney Kamlager-Dove.
Kids from around the country will visit this place, look up at that spaceship, and be inspired to build hard things, and do hard things.
Sen. Mark Kelly
Tom Marshburn attended as another space veteran. He reflected on the demanding yet life-changing nature of spending 330 days in space.
Science Center President and Chief Executive Jeffrey Rudolph and Ken Phillips, curator of aerospace science, guided tours. The museum is designed to inspire wonder for visitors of all ages.
Legislative efforts surrounding aerospace education have continued to parallel the center’s expansion. During April, Senators Ben Ray Luján, Adam Schiff, Kelly, and Padilla spearheaded an initiative advocating for an enduring trajectory for Mars exploration within the Fiscal Year 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
These exhibit spaces feature 25 aircraft, including a section of a Boeing 747-400. They also display space capsules from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo-Soyuz programs.
General admission to the Science Center is free. Timed reservations and a $4 service fee apply for entry to the new air and space center.