Lunch and Learn at the St. Louis Science Center

The St. Louis Science Center is now one of the world's largest places for children and adults of all ages to learn about science. The Science Center campus is made up of three buildings: the main building, and air-supported building called the Exoploradome which sits next to it, and the old Planetarium which is across Interstate 64. A pedestrian bridge connects the main science building to the Planetarium, which is actually in Forest Park. The Planetarium is a Hyperboloid Structure. That means that it looks something like a cross between a flying saucer and one of the stacks at a nuclear power plant that has been slightly flattened. One of my first recollections of visiting there was when I was in college. A group of us had gone there to see the Pink Floyd Laser Light Show. The Planetarium was home to a Digistar 1 digital star projector that projected images onto the dome-shaped ceiling of the place. It was the only one in town. The seats folded back and you looked straight up at a dizzying array of light flashes as the speakers blared out cuts from "Dark Side of the Moon." I remember the girl sitting next to me, having had just a little too much wine before going to such an event, throwing up on my shoe. It was time to leave.

Now, quite a few years later, you can go there and learn about science during lunch. The Lunch and Learn program at the science center has featured everything from a 24-piece big band to astronaut Buzz Aldrin to locally and nationally known experts in a variety of fields. The free lectures and demonstrations are held weekdays on CenterStage in the main building's lower level. The audiences range from school and tour groups to adults dropping in during their lunch break. Some of the programs are tied to exhibits and movies at the Science center's Omnimax Theater.