Perched atop a hill on 8 hectares of landscaped grounds at Bukit Kiara on the northwestern fringes of the city, the centre was officially opened on 29 November 1996 by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Among the themes featured in the exhibition galleries are an environmental odyssey, pathways to discovery, future world and thinking machines.

The National Science Center open on 6 April 1986, at a temporary renovated bungalow located at Jalan Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur.

For this purpose, a government house at the address JKR 641, Jalan Kelantan, Federal Hill, Kuala Lumpur has been modified.

On 27 February 1992, Mr Abdul Ghafar bin Baba (now called "Tun") as Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, the project officially National Science Centre in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.

National Science Centre building design built is unique in that resembles a truncated cone capped by a geodesic dome.

The center is equipped with an Integrated Management System (IBMS) and has a two-level exhibition gallery space with an area of 6,717.6 square meters.