Discovery Place Science is a science and technology museum designed for all ages, located in Uptown, Charlotte, North Carolina. The facility's exhibits and activities focus on hands-on experiences; it features a "Thinker Space" and labs, a two-story urban rain forest, aquariums, live animal exhibits, stages for demonstrations, space for traveling exhibits, and event space. Discovery Place Science also operates The Charlotte Observer IMAX Dome Theater, also referred to as an OMNIMAX theater. It is the largest IMAX Dome Theater in the Carolinas. The museum opened in 1981 and was renovated in 2010. The IMAX Dome was opened in 1991. The theater-naming rights were secured by The Charlotte Observer. Rebranding In 2016, on the organization's 70th anniversary, the Discovery Place network of museums underwent rebranding for naming clarity. The Discovery Place moniker now refers to the 501(c)3 non-profit and network of museums as a whole. The Uptown Charlotte location: Discovery Place became Discovery Place Science. The Freedom Park location in Charlotte: Charlotte Nature Museum became Discovery Place Nature and the facilities in Huntersville, North Carolina and Rockingham, North Carolina retained their names: Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville and Discovery Place Kids-Rockingham. History The museum traces its history to 1946, and the foundation of a small museum on Cecil Street, Charlotte, by Laura Owens, a schoolteacher. The popularity of this museum led to the foundation of the Children's Nature Center adjacent to the new Freedom Park. This museum opened in 1951, with a focus on bringing families and nature together. It further expanded in 1965 to include a planetarium. By the 1970s, it had been renamed the Charlotte Nature Museum. At tis time, interest in science education was growing, in part due to the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The community of Charlotte approved funding and plans for a comprehensive hands-on science and technology center, and it was decided to locate the new museum on North Tryon Street to encourage development in uptown Charlotte and maximize access in the growing city. This new museum opened in 1981, known as Discovery Place at 301 North Tryon Street with of space. Its first director was Russell Peithman. The facility expanded as the needs of the community grew. In 1986, exhibition space was added to accommodate traveling exhibitions and, in 1991, The Charlotte Observer IMAX® Dome Theatre opened as the first giant-screen motion picture theatre in the Carolinas. The Carol Grotnes Belk