The Greensboro Science Center was established in 1957 as the Greensboro Junior Museum. By its 40th anniversary in 1997, it was attracting some 200,000 visitors each year, and attendance has continued to grow to 434,718 as of 2017. The current executive director, Glenn Dobrogosz, was hired in 2004 The facility received accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2008. As part of a $20 million makeover, the GSC opened Time Warner Cable's Extreme Weather Gallery in May 2011, and the HealthQuest exhibit in June 2011. On May 2, 2015, the Greensboro Science Center opened its tree top adventure park, Skywild.
Attractions
The Animal Discovery Zoological Park is home to animals including red pandas, tigers, white-nosed coati, meerkats, black howler monkeys, and Nile crocodiles, and is designed to showcase the "Science of Survival." Attractions within the zoo include the Friendly Farm, Kavanagh Discovery House and Davis Kelly Fountain of Youth and Discovery. The Museum includes Prehistoric Passages: Realm of Dragons, SciPlay Bay, Time Warner Cable's Extreme Weather Gallery, and touch labs that include live snakes, lizards, and invertebrates. The OmniSphere Theater is a full dome theater where visitors experience everything from the stars to coral reefs in 2D and 3D. The Wiseman Aquarium is an aquarium that features animals including stingrays, African penguins, otters, fishing cats, sharks, mata matas, and moon jellies.
In 2009, Greensboro voters considered a $20 million bond referendum for the Natural Science Center. $10 million was used for the SciQuarium, a aquarium with more than 75 species of animals and a stingray touch tank. $10 million is planned for renovations and expansions of existing parts of the GSC. The master plan for this renovation was developed with the help of Cambridge Seven Associates and Moser-Mayer Phoenix & Associates, and phase 1 opened in the summer of 2013. Phase 2 will include updates to the current museum, and phase 3 will include new animals such as Pygmy hippos, Cassowary and Red Pandas in an exhibit called "Endangered Species Village."
