The museum's history dates back to the first California State Exhibition building, which opened in Exposition Park in Los Angeles in 1912, the site of an agricultural fairground from 1872 to 1910.

[6] The hands-on interactive exhibits included themes on agriculture, transportation, electricity, energy, industries, and minerals.

[7] In 1961, the museum opened a new science wing that featured "Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond", an exhibit sponsored by IBM and designed by Charles and Ray Eames to visually demonstrate fundamental mathematical concepts.

[8][9] Interaction stations demonstrated different concepts including celestial mechanics, the Möbius strip, multiplication, symmetry, and projective geometry.

[11] The opening and closing ceremonies for the games were held in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is adjacent to the museum.

[13][14] It was also known as Aerospace Hall but also commonly known as the California Air and Space Museum/Gallery and the SKETCH Foundation Gallery,[15] and was the first major public work of architect Frank Gehry.

The original museum building closed its doors in 1996 to prepare for the new construction, which was designed by Portland, Oregon-based Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership.

[29][30][31] Inside the new building will be include: General Admission for the California Science Center is free for their permanent exhibition galleries, various demonstrations, and other prominent aircraft and spacecraft.

It is also home to BodyWorks, a 15-minute show featuring Tess, a 50-foot animatronic human body simulator, with her animated friend, Walt, demonstrating how homeostasis works.

This two-story, 45,000-square-foot exhibit features display zones with live animals and aquariums about wildlife and adaptation in different ecosystems, including a river, desert, polar region, deep sea, ocean, island and urban areas, as well as the entire planet Earth,[32] including a 188,000-gallon kelp tank populated with more than 1,500 live fish, kelp and other marine life with an acrylic tunnel which allows guests to feel surrounded by the sea life.

This building will include three multi-level galleries, spanning four floors and covering over 100,000 square feet of exhibit space.