Exploreum Science Center

CLOSED for Thanksgiving
2018-11-22
We will be closed Thanksgiving Day. We will reopen on Friday and resume our normal hours. General Admission applies for non-members. Pricing for non-members, members, and military can all be found by clicking here.

Mars Insight Lander Fun and Jamie Ellis
2018-11-24 14:00 - 16:00 UTC
“Mars is on the frontier of planetary and future human exploration for the great red planet. On November 26th, 2018, the Mars Insight Lander will be arriving for the final step of its travel, the entry, descent, and landing on Elysium Planitia, Mars. Come meet Jamie Ellis, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador for Mobile, AL on November 24th at the Exploreum from 2-4pm as she discusses the mission and demonstrates the EDL of the lander through fun hands-on activities.

Included with General Admission. Members Free. Imax Extra.

Jamie has served as a NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador since 2016, when she became the first to represent our city in over seven years. She discovered her passion for planetary sciences through field camp in New Mexico and utilizes her passion to show young girls their potential in any STEM field. Since becoming an ambassador, Jamie has cultivated herself to not only being versatile but unique within her field of study. From working an internship in environmental geology to currently being an Americorp member with Mobile Baykeeper’s Bay Patrol team. Jamie continuously builds on her outreach efforts through her Facebook science page The GalacticGeo Gal. This spring, she will graduate from the University of South Alabama with a B.S. in Geology with future plans to pursue a master’s international to further study astrophysics.”

CLOSED TO PUBLIC
2018-11-26

Little Discoveries
2018-11-28 10:00 - 10:30, 2018-11-29 14:00 - 14:30, 2018-12-05 10:00 - 22:30, 2018-12-06 14:00 - 14:30, 2018-12-12 10:00 - 10:30, 2018-12-13 14:00 - 14:30, 2019-01-23 10:00 - 10:30, 2019-01-24 14:00 - 14:30 and 2 more dates
Included in General Admission for non-members. Free for Exploreum Members. Takes place in the Wharf of Wonders and is for little scientists six years old and younger.

Wednesday, November 14th 10:00 am

Wind Science: Discover how wind moves the world around us.

Thursday, November 15th 2:00 pm

Wind Science: Discover how wind moves the world around us.

Wednesday, November 28th 10:00 am

Colorful Chemistry: Discover how colorful chemistry can be.

Thursday, November 29th 2:00 pm

Colorful Chemistry: Discover how colorful chemistry can be.

Wednesday, December 5th 10:00 am

Snowflake Science: Discover why snowflakes are individually fantastic.

Thursday, December 6th 2:00 pm

Snowflake Science: Discover why snowflakes are individually fantastic.

Wednesday, December 12th 10:00 am

Hibernation Science: Discover animal sleeping habits in winter.

Thursday, December 13th 2:00 pm

Hibernation Science: Discover animal sleeping habits in winter.

Wednesday, January 23rd 10:00 am

Archeology Science: Discover how we dig up the past.

Thursday, January 24th 2:00 pm

Archeology Science: Discover how we dig up the past.

Wednesday, January 30th 10:00 am

Tree Science: Discover what we can learn from tree rings.

Thursday, January 31st 2:00 pm

Tree Science: Discover what we can learn from tree rings.

Crazy Christmas PJ Party
2018-12-08 15:00 - 19:00
We have yet another great, family fun-filled event planned for the 2018 holiday season. This years event will be a celebration of our current exhibit, Animation Academy, and will feature some fun and educational activities for the whole family. Best of all we are encouraging visitors to come in their favorite comfy PJs for the event! Flannels, onesies, superheroes – whatever your favorite, we want to see them!

Photo opps with Santa & Mrs. Claus

Animal Tales, LLC Holiday Showcase

Demonstrations and Activities

CSI: Christmas Science Investigations-Using Cinnamon, Ginger and Tumeric to develop fingerprints left on “milk bottles” to find out who stole Santa’s Cookies.

Who needs a gingerbread house when you can grow your own? Learn more about Turtle anatomy and how they create their shell.

Expanding Grinch Heart: How can we use simple chemistry to help the grumpy Grinch’s heart grow three sizes during our Crazy Christmas PJ Party? Hint- it involves a solid, a liquid, and a gas.

Snowball Catapult: Learn how to build a catapult and use it to have a paper snowball fight.

Electrostatic Tinsel: Decorate your day as we learn how static electricity can be formed and use it to stick pieces of tinsel to balloons.

Wonderful Window Clings: Learn how to create your very own wonderful window cling in this fun science demonstration.

Radical Reindeer Toothpaste: Come and see how Santa cleans his reindeer teeth in this colorful Christmas demonstration.

Snowflake Science- Learn all about snowflakes and experience an insta-snowstorm in the Wharf of Wonder!

The Sustainable gingerbread house: Make a “gingerbread” house that is resilient to coastal weathering and supportive of sustainable energy.

Holiday Light Science: Explore circuits with holiday lights with batteries! Can you make the lights come on?

Healthier Eggnog- Discover the science behind whipped eggs and don’t even think about worrying with over indulging!

Grinch Kabobs- Enjoy a yummy, Grinch inspired fruit kabob and don’t forget to focus on fruits in your daily meal plan.

PLUS we will being showing the holiday favorite, Santa vs. The Snowman on the IMAX Dome!

Ages 13-64 = $7

Ages 7-12/65+ = $5

Ages 3-6 = $3

Ages 2 and under = Free

Exploreum Members = $3

Admission includes the IMAX Dome film Santa vs. The Snowman and special holiday cartoons TBA.

Closing Early at 2:30pm
2018-12-14
Closing early at 2:30pm. Will resume normal hours on Saturday.

CLOSED CHRISTMAS EVE
2018-12-24

CLOSED CHRISTMAS DAY
2018-12-25

Happy Noon Year
2018-12-29 10:00 - 14:00
Make it your resolution to join the Exploreum for our annual Happy Noon Years celebration Saturday, December 29th! Ring in the New Year with family friendly experiences that explore the world of science, technology, engineering, and math.
When the clock strikes noon our Moonpie will drop, heralding in even more fun throughout the building. Be sure to not miss the Big Boom in the courtyard as we send hundreds of plastic balls flying through the air.
Admission:
Pricing TBA soon.
Doors open at 9:00 a.m.
Activities kick off at 10:00 a.m.
Demonstrations and Activities
Nature’s Fireworks – Discover the inspiration for fireworks by creating your own with prisms.
Fire Tornado – See how air can be controlled to create a vortex around a burning flame that turns it into a fire tornado!
Party Poppers – Make your own party popper with a paper cup and balloon.
Firework Painting – Make your own firework painting to take home using wax resist and watercolor.
Firework Colors! It’s time for everyone’s favorite part of ringing in the New Year! Explore how we use chemistry to create amazing firework colors!
�
The Big Boom! Come welcome in the New Year with the biggest boom in town! See what happens when we mix freezing cold liquid nitrogen and boiling hot water – followed by a whole bag of ball pit balls! It’s sure to be a blast!
Fireworks in a Jar – Learn about solubility of liquids in this exciting and beautiful demo that creates fireworks in water!
Moon pie cookies! Enjoy a healthy spin on a Mobile favorite! These yummy cookies will introduce new ingredient alternatives that will leave room for more this Holiday Season.
Atrium: Moonpie Drop, Confetti Canons, Countdown, and more.

CLOSING EARLY NEW YEARS EVE
2018-12-31 08:00 - 17:00
CLOSING EARLY NEW YEARS EVE
OPEN 10AM-2PM

CLOSED NEW YEARS DAY
2019-01-01

CLOSED FOR EXHIBIT INSTALL
2019-01-07 - 2019-01-18
We will be closed January 7-18 for installation of Genghis Khan: The Great Civilizer exhibit. The official opening date for the exhibit is January 26, 2019. More information on the exhibit can be found by clicking here. Please contact us in advance about booking large groups. Information on special hotel rates can be found here.

CLOSED TO PUBLIC
2019-01-25
CLOSED TO PUBLIC for Celebration of the White Moon event. We will reopen on Saturday for the premiere of the Genghis Khan exhibit.

Celebration of the White Moon - Mongolian New Year
2019-01-25 19:00 - 21:00
Friday, January 25, 2019
7:00pm – 9:00pm

Join us as we usher in the Mongolian new year with the opening of our blockbuster exhibit – Genghis Khan: The Great Civilizer.

Celebration of the White Moon is an exclusive preview of the exhibit and a fundraising event. Enjoy an evening of authentic Mongolian
performances, food, and drinks.

COCKTAIL ATTIRE
$80 PER PERSON
$150 PER COUPLE

Click here to reserve tickets or email Nixon Noblitt at nnoblitt@www.exploreum.com. Call for additional details – Nixon Noblitt: 251-208-6857.

EXPLOREUM SCIENCE CENTER
65 GOVERNMENT ST. • MOBILE ALABAMA 36602

Genghis Khan: The Great Civilizer
2019-01-26 - 2019-04-28
Genghis Khan Invades Downtown Mobile!
Discover the man behind the legend in the blockbuster exhibition experienced by over a million people around the world.

MOBILE, AL.– In the tradition of years past, the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center is proud to announce a return to major blockbuster exhibitions in the Spring of 2019. On the scale of its China and Pompeii exhibits, the Exploreum invites visitors to take a journey back in time with one of history’s most prolific and controversial figures – Genghis Khan. Through artifacts, performers, artwork, and other historically significant items, discover the eye-opening story of the world’s most well-known conqueror, civilizer and innovator in the exhibition Genghis Khan: The Great Civilizer – opening at the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center on Saturday, January 26, 2019.
To book someone to come speak to your group about this incredible new exhibit, please click here.

Also supported by BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama, Spire, Jesco Inc., Mobile County Marketing Fund, and Alabama Power.

Curated and developed by dinosaur expert Don Lessem, the exhibition features more than 300 spectacular objects on display, including rare and sophisticated weapons, costumes, jewels, ornaments, instruments and numerous other fascinating relics and elaborate artifacts from 13th-century Mongolia. “I went to Mongolia to look for fossils and discovered the truth about Genghis Khan, a civilizing genius,” said Lessem. “It’s a great story best told in a major exhibition.”
Experience life in 13th-century Mongolia, entering the tents, battlegrounds and marketplaces of a vanished world that was once the largest land empire in history. Explore Genghis Khan’s life and those of his sons and grandsons during the formation, peak and decline of the Mongol Empire.

As the exhibit strikingly portrays, Genghis’s reputation as the greatest conqueror is well-deserved – he dominated three times more land in his lifetime than either Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great, a conquest attested to by the formidable array of swords, bows, arrows, saddles and armor included on display in Genghis Khan. In fact, the historic exhibition showcases hundreds of artifacts from Genghis’s 13th century Empire, the largest such collection ever to tour.
However, this special exhibition presents a more complete image of the legendary leader whom Time Magazine and CNN named “The Man of the Millennium.” As visitors discover, Genghis not only created the nation of Mongolia and its written language, but his lineage established the modern borders of nations from India to Iran, Korea to China and opened the trade routes that united East and West, forever after.

Visitors will experience the exhibition through the eyes of a Mongolian resident, receiving a civilian identity card at the beginning of their journey. From warrior to spy to princess, they will follow this character’s life throughout the rise of the great Mongol Empire across six key scenes:

The Grasslands: Discover the daily life of a nomad on the high plateaus of Central Asia and learn about the outcast Genghis Khan’s earliest struggles. Walk into an ancient Mongol ger (yurt) home. Stand in the midst of a herd of stampeding horses.

Rise of the Mongols: Learn how the young, charismatic Genghis Khan united warring tribes in order to form an unrivaled cavalry. Explore the equestrian culture and innovations in weaponry Genghis Khan mastered to conquer four times more land than any Empire in history.

The Walled City: Enter the recreation of Karakorum, the walled city, which became the capital of the Mongolian Empire after Genghis Khan’s son inherited the kingdom. See how life changed for Mongols once they had vanquished all of their enemies, and arts and diverse religions and cultures flourished as the need for war subsided.

The Silk Road: While Genghis Khan was a ruthless warrior, he was also a savvy statesman and benevolent ruler. He developed a written language and a sophisticated society with fair taxation, stable government, appreciation of the arts, religious freedom and open trade along the Silk Road. Explore this vital trade route which enabled the exchange of both goods and ideas between cultures.

The Palace of Kublai Khan – Enter the sumptuous Chinese palace of Xanadu, the center of the Empire of Genghis’s grandson, Kublai, who united China for the first time. See porcelain treasures and a sword with the emblem of a guardian of Marco Polo, among many others.

Mongolia Today: Trace the influence of Genghis Khan in images of modern Mongolian life. The distinctive horse-based culture of Genghis Khan’s time persists today as the nation and language he created lives on eight centuries after his rule. See how his legend lives on through the namesake of many modern Mongolian brands, and how he was revered as a god among the Mongolian people.

Genghis Khan will open to the general public on Saturday, January 26, 2019. Additional details to come in the following months.
Interested in becoming a sponsor for Genghis Khan: The Great Civilizer blockbuster exhibit? Please contact Acting Executive Director, Don Comeaux at dcomeaux@www.exploreum.com or by phone at 1-251-208-6855 or contact Toni Webb at twebb@www.exploreum.com or by phone 1-251-208-6881.

News Articles:
WKRG – “Mongol Hordes Invading Mobile in Spring 2019”
Lagniappe – ‘Blockbuster’ Khan exhibit arrives in January

Little Discoveries
2019-03-06 10:00 - 10:45
Included in General Admission for non-members. Free for Exploreum Members. Takes place in the Wharf of Wonderand is for little scientists six years old and younger.
March 6th 10:00 am
Panda Science: Discover interesting facts about China’s most iconic animal.

March 13th 10:00 am Panda Science 2: Discover the other panda that lives on Earth and its American relative.

March 20th 10:00 am
Colorful Chemistry: Discover how colorful and exciting that chemistry can be.

March 27th 10:00 am
Dinosaur Science: Discover the wonderful world of Paleontology.

April 3rd 10:00 am
Fossil Science: Discover how scientists use fossil remains to learn about prehistoric creatures.

April 10th 10:00 am
Penny Science: Discover how we can use chemistry to clean dirty pennies.

April 17th 10:00 am
Musical Science: Discover how vibrating air creates music to our ears.

April 24th 10:00 am
Plant Science: Discover how seeds help to give the world new life.

May 1st 10:00 am
Owl Science: Discover how scientists learn about owls by dissecting owl pellets.

May 8th 10:00 am
Bubble Science: Discover what fun science we can do with air and soapy water.

Little Discoveries
2019-03-07 14:00 - 14:45, 2019-03-14 14:00 - 14:45
Included in General Admission for non-members. Free for Exploreum Members. Takes place in the Wharf of Wonder and is for little scientists six years old and younger.

March 7th 2:00 pm
Panda Science: Discover interesting facts about China’s most iconic animal.

March 14th 2:00 pm
Panda Science 2: Discover the other panda that lives on Earth and its American relative.

March 21st 2:00 pm
Colorful Chemistry: Discover how colorful and exciting that chemistry can be.

March 28th 2:00 pm
Dinosaur Science: Discover the wonderful world of Paleontology.

April 4th 2:00 pm
Fossil Science: Discover how scientists use fossil remains to learn about prehistoric creatures.

April 11th 2:00 pm
Penny Science: Discover how we can use chemistry to clean dirty pennies.

April 18th 2:00 pm
Musical Science: Discover how vibrating air creates music to our ears.

April 25th 2:00 pm
Plant Science: Discover how seeds help to give the world new life.

May 2nd 2:00 pm
Owl Science: Discover how scientists learn about owls by dissecting owl pellets.

May 9th 2:00 pm
Bubble Science: Discover what fun science we can do with air and soapy water

Little Symphony
2019-03-08 14:00 - 14:45
Little Symphony Kicks off on Friday, March 8th at 2:00 pm (through May 17) with a new semester of Music, Science, and Math. We will explore the instruments of the orchestra and how they produce sound by wiggling air at people.
Students will learn how to play recorders, percussion, and have the opportunity to try a variety of other musical instruments. Parents will need to purchase a recorder, and are encouraged to learn alongside their child.
This is a biweekly class offering. For more information please contact Wayne McNeil at wmcneil@www.exploreum.com or 251-208-6875.

Little Studio
2019-03-12 15:00 - 15:45
Little Studio is a new early childhood program at the Exploreum, and will explore the intersections between Art, Creativity, and Science.
This biweekly program launches on Tuesday, March 12th at 3:00 pm. and runs through May 7.
All supplies for projects are included with the price of admission or membership. Please dress appropriately for art making!
Projects will include color study, painting, drawing, and science based art projects.
For more information please contact Wayne McNeil at wmcneil@www.exploreum.com or 251-208-6875.

Little Discoveries
2019-03-13 10:00 - 10:45
Included in General Admission for non-members. Free for Exploreum Members. Takes place in the Wharf of Wonder and is for little scientists six years old and younger.
March 6th 10:00 am
Panda Science: Discover interesting facts about China’s most iconic animal.
March 13th 10:00 am Panda Science 2: Discover the other panda that lives on Earth and its American relative.
March 20th 10:00 am
Colorful Chemistry: Discover how colorful and exciting that chemistry can be.
March 27th 10:00 am
Dinosaur Science: Discover the wonderful world of Paleontology.
April 3rd 10:00 am
Fossil Science: Discover how scientists use fossil remains to learn about prehistoric creatures.
April 10th 10:00 am
Penny Science: Discover how we can use chemistry to clean dirty pennies.
April 17th 10:00 am
Musical Science: Discover how vibrating air creates music to our ears.
April 24th 10:00 am
Plant Science: Discover how seeds help to give the world new life.
May 1st 10:00 am
Owl Science: Discover how scientists learn about owls by dissecting owl pellets.
May 8th 10:00 am
Bubble Science: Discover what fun science we can do with air and soapy water.
