Sci-Quest is a children's hands-on science center serving the Tennessee Valley (north Alabama and southern Tennessee). Located in Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, Alabama; Sci-Quest is situated in one of the nation's largest research parks and serves as a conduit for informal science education and workforce development.
Surrounded by corporations deeply rooted in space and biological research, aerospace engineering, space and missile defense and technology, the mission of Sci-Quest is to promote science literacy through interactive exhibits and innovative learning experiences for a diverse and expanding audience. Sci-Quest also strives to develop children's interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related fields and be a community resource of science education.
Founded by a group of community volunteers who worked for nearly a decade to secure funding for the center, Sci-Quest was established as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 1989. After opening to the public in May 1999, Sci-Quest's more than 100 interactive exhibits, special traveling exhibits and programs have hosted more than 500,000 visitors.
Sci-Quest is determined to help motivate children to discover and explore the wonders of science, mathematics and technology; and to correlate their interest to the existing career fields that exist throughout Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley.
The Science Center's core values are creativity, excellence, integrity and interactivity. Those values define everything we do and enable Sci-Quest to achieve its vision.
Sci-Quest presents informal, hands-on STEM education experiences based on the National Science Education guidelines and specifically designed to inspire children to pursue greater learning experiences. The Center's education staff has created and presented more than 150 interactive, educational programs for groups of children including weekend workshops, school group programs, day camps, overnight and homeschool programs. In 2005, Sci-Quest educators began responding to requests to take their interactive teaching methods into the schools in outlying, rural areas. The outreach program has grown tremendously in the last year, and has reached thousands of children throughout the Tennessee Valley.
In addition, Sci-Quest is home to a unique, 3-D, immersive theater that incorporates a moderator's teachings with the 3D/high-defnintion show with content on touch screen computers. Using active 3D Technology, the state-of-the art, single projector set-up allows the theater to toggle from 2D to 3D in a matter of minutes, effectively offering visitors the ability to personalize their learning experience.
