The Columbia Memorial Space Center (CMSC) is a

science museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

in the

Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Cou ...

, at 12400 Columbia Way, City of Downey, California, US. It is owned and operated by Downey, and open to the general public as a hands-on space museum and activity center.

Mission

The center's stated mission is to "ignite people's passion in science, technology, engineering, and space while honoring Downey's aerospace history."

History

The site of the museum is the former

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

/ Rockwell/

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

plant where all of the Apollo Command/Service Modules were built and the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

was conceived. In 1999, when the Downey Plant closed, the City of Downey began a redevelopment effort, including an educational component. In early 2007, a builder — Tower General Contractors — was selected, and ground was broken on April 12, 2007, on the 18,000 square foot project. STS-107 Flight Insignia

First opened in 2008, CMSC is recognized as the National Memorial to the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' and its crew that was lost on

STS-107 STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th and final flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003, and during its 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes ...

. On November 7, 2008, a propane tank exploded during the filming of an episode of the television series ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

'', causing an electrical fire, without damage to the museum.

Exhibits

Designated a Challenger Learning Center, the museum has a variety of camps, workshops, and other monthly events to generate interest in STEM, and hands-on exhibits. Now 20,000 square feet, the two-story building has a

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

lab, HD computer lab, and a wide range of interactive exhibits on

space shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

operations, living and working on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

, exploration of the

solar system The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

, aerospace engineering, and the range of fields of study and jobs related to

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

and robotic space exploration. In 2012, the first "Space Shuttle" – a wood and plastic full-scale mockup built by

North American Rockwell North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F- ...

in 1972 – was placed on temporary display at the center. Dubbed the " Space Shuttle ''Inspiration''", it was disassembled and stored in early 2014. In front of the center, a dummy " boilerplate" Apollo command capsule, BP-12, is on display. This was the first Apollo capsule to fly, and is now owned by the City of Downey. The center also owns Apollo Boilerplate BP-19A, which was is in storage as of 2018.

References

External links

Columbia Memorial Space Center official website

The Columbia Memorial Space Center
s channel on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

{{authority control Museums in Los Angeles County, California Downey, California Aerospace museums in California History museums in California Science museums in California Science centers Space Shuttle tourist attractions Science and technology in Greater Los Angeles Association of Science-Technology Centers member institutions Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Smithsonian Institution affiliates Museums established in 2008 2008 establishments in California Expressionist architecture Postmodern architecture in California