GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Greensboro Science Center is a popular Triad treasure with a story stretching back to the 1950s. 

Today, GSC is a popular destination for families to visit educational exhibits and see animals up close. Center staff report that it welcomed more than 600,000 visitors last year. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Greensboro Science Center is a popular Triad treasure with a story stretching back to the 1950s

  • It opened to the public on October 5, 1957 as the Greensboro Junior Museum

  • Expansion after expansion followed, until the GSC became the zoo, aquarium, museum and experience of today

  • The next GSC expansion is called Expedition Rainforest: The Greensboro Biodome

The beloved family destination of today was built through decades by people who cared about its mission to educate, inspire and encourage. GSC Education, Events and Collections Manager Jessica Gouge said it opened to the public on October 5, 1957 as the Greensboro Junior Museum. 

“I just think it’s really cool that we were founded by a really strong group of women,” Gouge said. 

Today, a section of the center is bathed in blue light and boasts a pirate ship and a submarine for children to explore. Gouge said that section of the building is the original Greensboro Junior Museum. 

“So you would walk in and there would be display cases of birds, taxidermied birds up … they had a submarine suit … this is where they would set up a bunch of chairs because they catered more to school programs when they first opened instead of the general public,” Gouge said. 

Just down the hall, she said the cobblestone on the floor is the original cobblestone that was laid as the foundation when the center opened in 1957. 

“The Science Center has grown a ton over the years,” Gouge said. “It’s been 65 years since we’ve been here.”

Rather than leveling the building and starting over as the center grew, it added on new sections. She said the first expansion happened in the mid-1970s. As Gouge stood under the vaulted ceiling near the GSC’s entrance, she said that the building’s evolution was far from over. 

“This was built in the mid-1980s. This was … what most people will recognize as the natural science center in addition to the wonderful pendulum here which was installed in '89,” Gouge said. 

Expansion after expansion followed, until the GSC became the zoo, aquarium, museum and experience of today. Gouge said the interesting history isn’t limited to the architecture. She also oversees the center’s vast collection. 

“We probably only have 1% of our collection on display right now,” Gouge said. 

The collections area contains a Project Mercury space suit, drawers of teeth and shells, cabinets of taxidermied birds, the original ribbon cutting scissors, ribbon and shovel dating back to the museum’s opening, a piece of rock candy and thousands of other treasures. 

She hopes the Greensboro Junior League members who started the center would enjoy the zoo, museum aquarium and experience it has become. 

“I would really hope that they would be proud that we’ve expanded on their legacy. They started something really, really awesome here in Greensboro, and I think it’s only gotten better,” Gouge said. 

Another expansion is on the horizon for the GSC. It’s called Expedition Rainforest: The Greensboro Biodome. The Greensboro Science Center is located on Lawndale Drive and is open seven days a week.