Columbia Memorial Space Center

Downey, California Museum Columbia Memorial Space Center,

12400 Columbia Way
Downey, CA 90242
(562) 231-1200
downeyspacecenter.org

Downey holds many distinctions but among the proudest are its contributions to space technology. The city which once was mostly farm land grew into a new role over 70 years ago as companies began attracting scientists and highly skilled builders and designers. The elite "crew" created built more than just commercial aircraft (though they did that, as well!) There's much to learn about Downey and you'll do just that in an entertaining, educational, hands-on way when you visit a top notch museum dedicated to a special industry involving travel and space exploration.

Columbia Memorial Space Center is both a tribute to Space Shuttle Columbia's seven crew members, lost in 2003, and Downey's 70 years of aviation technology and manufacturing history. Missile development, design & production of Apollo command and service modules during the lunar program, and development & production of the Space Shuttle Orbiters all happened here. The public is invited to visit this special museum

Featured Exhibits at the Columbia Memorial Space Center

Rockwell Signature Blocks: Exhibit features 14 concrete blocks signed by various astronauts. Among these are Apollo missions XIV, XV, XVI, XVII

Challenger Learning Center: Return to the Moon, Voyage to Mars or Rendezvous With Comet Halley in our space mission simulator. For scheduled field ...

Permanent Exhibits

Astronaut Suit: Astronauts working in the vacuum of space require a multi-layered suit designed for comfort, utility and protection from the ...

Robotic Arms: NASA has thousands of uses for robotics! Today robots build our cars, perform surgeries, and even clean our floors. ...

Magic Planet: Take a look at a special 360-degree visualization projection system that allows you to explore the many facets of ...

Gravity Well: Planets=Marbles
Watch as marbles race around, spiraling inwards down a concave funnel. Learning about things like gravity, black holes, orbits and ...

Drop Tower: During the 1960's North American Aviation, in their design of the Apollo Command module, constructed and used a 150ft ...

Solar System Design: Design your very own solar system on a touch screen, teaching you about planets, gravity and how they affect each ...

Paper Air Plane Station: Come learn the principals of flight at our paper airplane station. First build your design, basic or complex, and ...

Shuttle Simulator: Here at our Shuttle station you can dive into two different scenarios: landing a Shuttle on a landing strip, ...

Robot Lab: Program a robot in our Robotics Lab and test your skills by running a mission to collect rocks samples, just like ...

Rocket Launcher: Launch two air-powered rockets as they zoom skyward in a race to the top. Maxing out at 20ft above ...

Just several miles and a few streets away from this museum, also be sure to visit LA County Fire Museum in neighboring Bellflower.