Great Lakes Science Center

What Great Lakes Science Center does

Great Lakes Science Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit science museum founded in 1995 in Cleveland, Ohio, operating from a downtown lakefront headquarters at 601 Erieside Ave. The institution's core offering is an integrated portfolio of permanent and rotating interactive exhibits — including the NASA Glenn Visitor Center (one of only 11 in the country), the Cleveland Clinic Dome Theater, BioMedTech, Science Phenomena, Green Energy Exhibits (anchored by a 150-foot wind turbine and 156-panel solar array), Cleveland Creates Gallery, and the recently opened Handle With Care early childhood gallery — supplemented by the historic 618-foot Steamship William G. Mather. Programming extends the platform beyond the museum floor through Camp Curiosity summer day camps (grades K-8), a high-school Robotics Initiative built around FIRST Robotics and a Rockwell Automation-funded robotics room, an annual Design & Build Challenge, Ohio Space Week, and a Virtual Field Trip channel.

Revenue is generated across multiple streams: general and special-exhibition admissions (e.g., TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition with adult tickets at $20 and a White Star Package at $54.95), annual memberships, summer camp tuition, private event rentals (weddings, corporate events, proms), retail via the on-site Science Store, and — critically for a non-profit — philanthropic contributions, corporate sponsorships, and foundation grants (Bank of America, KeyBank, Parker Hannifin, Cleveland Clinic, Rockwell Automation, PNC, The Cleveland Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture). Primary customer segments are families with children, K-12 schools and educators, high-school students in STEM pathways, and corporate partners; the museum also hosts the MC2 STEM High School on-site in partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Strategic posture as of 2025-2026 is expansionary: a $25 million Force For Tomorrow capital campaign is underway, new permanent exhibits are being added, and VR/AR experiences (Mission Flight VR, the NASA Glenn Visitor Center App) are layered onto the physical platform.

Name

Great Lakes Science Center

Legal name

Great Lakes Science Center

Website

https://greatscience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Great Lakes Science Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit science museum in Cleveland, Ohio that delivers interactive STEM exhibits, the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, dome theater films, summer camps, and a robotics initiative to families, K-12 schools, and corporate partners across Northeast Ohio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science Museum / STEM Education Center

NAICS

Museums (71211), Museums (712110)

akta.pro primary industry

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA), Science Camps & Field Programs (Nature, Space, Marine, Geology) (EDAMABAB)

Keywords

• Interactive science exhibits
• STEM education programs
• Science museum memberships
• Summer STEM camps
• Educational venue rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. General Admission Tickets: Ticket sales for museum entry, with pricing varying by age group and membership status
2. Special Exhibitions: Premium admission for special exhibitions like TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition with various ticket packages including VR experiences
3. Memberships: Annual membership programs providing unlimited admission, discounts, and exclusive benefits
4. Summer Camps: Week-long STEM camp programs for grades K-8 with pricing based on grade level and member status
5. Private Event Rentals: Venue rental for corporate events, weddings, proms, and other private functions
6. Cleveland Clinic Dome Theater: Giant screen theater showing documentaries and films, including DOME Movies After Dark adult-oriented screenings
7. Donations and Grants: Philanthropic contributions, corporate sponsorships, and foundation grants supporting programs and exhibits
8. Science Store: Retail merchandise sales at the on-site science-themed gift shop

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Great Lakes Science Center is a non-profit science museum offering interactive STEM exhibits, hands-on educational programs, the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, the Cleveland Clinic Dome Theater, and the Steamship William G. Mather. It generates revenue through general admission, special exhibitions (e.g., TITANIC), annual memberships, summer STEM day camps, school field trips, private event rentals, gift shop sales, and philanthropic donations.

Product overview

Great Lakes Science Center is a science museum in Cleveland, Ohio that operates as a single unified institution offering interactive STEM exhibits, educational programs, and special exhibitions. The museum's portfolio includes the NASA Glenn Visitor Center (one of 11 in the country) featuring space exploration exhibits and the Mission Flight VR experience; the Cleveland Clinic Dome Theater for giant-screen films; permanent science galleries (BioMedTech, Science Phenomena, Green Energy Exhibits, Environmental Dashboard, Cleveland Creates Gallery, Handle With Care); and the Steamship William G. Mather historic ship tours. Programming includes Camp Curiosity summer camps (K-8), the Great Lakes Science Center Robotics Initiative (FIRST Robotics), Design & Build Challenge engineering competitions, Ohio Space Week & Discovery Days, SPLASH! Freshwater Exploration Day, and Virtual Field Trips. Special exhibitions like TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition rotate through the museum, while private event rentals provide additional revenue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MC2 STEM High School: A project-based STEM high school operated in partnership with Cleveland Metropolitan School District, housed within the Science Center facility.

Products and services

• General Admission Ticketing Ticketed entry to the science center's permanent exhibits and NASA Glenn Visitor Center for general visitors, with tiered pricing by age group.
• Annual Membership Program Annual subscriptions providing unlimited general admission, store and cafe discounts, reciprocal museum admission, and exclusive member activities for individuals and families.
• TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition Limited-run special exhibition of over 200 authentic Titanic artifacts with life-size room reconstructions and immersive VR/domed-screen experiences for the general public.
• Camp Curiosity Summer Day Camps Week-long STEM day camps for grades K-8 with weekly themes such as LEGO builds, Minecraft missions, space, coding, forensics, and robotics; member discounts and before/after-care add-ons available.
• Private Event Rentals Venue rental of the museum, DOME Theater, and Steamship William G. Mather for weddings, corporate events, proms, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other private functions with catering options.
• NASA Glenn Visitor Center Exhibit Permanent space-exploration exhibit including galleries, interactive exhibits, and artifacts such as the Skylab 3 Apollo Command Module, included free with general admission.
• Mission Flight VR Experience Premium add-on virtual reality experience inside the NASA Glenn Visitor Center covering space-shuttle rides, ISS visits, Apollo 11 moon landing, and Saturn V rocket launch; available to up to four guests at a time.
• Cleveland Clinic Dome Theater Six-story giant-screen dome theater showing documentary films such as Ohio: Wild at Heart and Penguins: A Love Story, plus DOME Movies After Dark evening screenings for adults.
• Steamship William G. Mather Tours Self-guided, guided, and Hard Hat Tours of the restored 618-foot 1925 Steamship William G. Mather exploring cargo holds, pilot house, guest quarters, engine room, and Cleveland's maritime heritage.
• BioMedTech Gallery Permanent gallery of interactive biomedical exhibits covering genomics, stem cells, prosthetics, functional electrical stimulation, and medical imaging with hands-on controls for prosthetic arms, MRI machines, and endoscopic cameras.
• Science Phenomena Gallery Hands-on permanent science exhibit with interactive stations exploring electricity, magnetism, light, optics, motion, mechanics, and resonance including a plasma ball, hexagon marbles, and chaotic pendulum.
• Green Energy Exhibits Permanent outdoor green-energy exhibit featuring a 150-foot working wind turbine and a 300-foot solar array canopy with 156 photovoltaic panels that supplies a portion of the museum's electricity while educating on renewables.
• Cleveland Creates Gallery Permanent manufacturing and technology gallery featuring interactive displays on sensors, data, remote robotics, local STEM professional representations, and dual-language interactives.
• Handle With Care Early Childhood Exhibit Permanent 2,000-square-foot early childhood gallery for children ages 8 and younger that combines STEM and engineering learning with imaginative care-package play, warehouse climbing structures, forklift simulations, and pulley/conveyor systems.
• MC2 STEM High School On-site charter project-based STEM high school operated in partnership with Cleveland Metropolitan School District where students complete four 10-week terms annually of STEM learning.
• Great Lakes Science Center Robotics Initiative High-school robotics program with CMSD providing curriculum, mentors, fabrication equipment, and FIRST Robotics competition support, plus a global prosthetic-hand humanitarian build project.
• Design & Build Challenge Annual engineering competition presented by Parker Hannifin in which sponsor and high-school teams design, build, and test a solution to a presented challenge in three hours to support STEM career awareness.
• Ohio Space Week & Discovery Days Week-long aerospace celebration featuring the Ohio Space Forum with industry leaders and NASA Discovery Days with hands-on STEM exhibits, VR/AR simulations, and NASA engineer interactions.
• Virtual Field Trip Remote-delivery STEM learning experiences and educational programming offered virtually to schools and groups that cannot visit in person.
• On-site Science Store On-site retail store selling science-themed gifts, toys, books, and educational merchandise to museum visitors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Wind turbine provides approximately 7 percent of Science Center's annual electrical needs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Bank of AmericamajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 May 2026Presenting sponsor of TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition. Bank of America supports special exhibitions that bring cultural and educational experiences to the community.
• NASA Glenn Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Lakes Science Center houses one of only 11 NASA Glenn Visitor Centers in the country, featuring space exploration exhibits, Apollo Command Module from Skylab 3 mission, and NASA artifacts. The partnership provides exclusive aerospace education and experiences.
• Cleveland CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNaming sponsor of the Cleveland Clinic Dome Theater, a giant screen theater for documentaries and films. Partnership includes DOME Movies After Dark adult programming and Voices of the Titanic immersive experience.
• KeyBankmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of Camp Curiosity: Summer Camps 2026. KeyBank's sponsorship supports STEM education programs for youth.
• Parker HannifinmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of Design & Build Challenge engineering competition. Parker Hannifin provides components for wind turbine and supports workforce development initiatives.
• Cleveland Metropolitan School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovative partnership hosting MC2 STEM High School on-site at the Science Center. Collaboration extends to Robotics Initiative serving multiple CMSD high schools.
• IMAHelpsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalifornia-based non-profit running medical humanitarian missions. Robotics students partner to provide prosthetic hands to children in Central and South America.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian): Smithsonian's flagship aerospace museum on the National Mall. Sets the national benchmark for space-themed exhibits that the NASA Glenn Visitor Center within GLSC partly mirrors at smaller scale.
• Exploratorium: San Francisco's Exploratorium is a benchmark hands-on science museum with permanent exhibits and professional development for educators. Comparable programmatic focus on inquiry-based STEM learning.
• Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago): Chicago's MSI is one of the largest science museums in the U.S. with permanent exhibits, educational programming, and special exhibitions. Larger scale but comparable audience and content mix.
• Museum of Science (Boston): Boston's Museum of Science offers exhibits, IMAX films, and educational programming with significant corporate and federal partnerships. Comparable institutional scale and revenue model.

Direct peers

• Discovery Place: Charlotte, NC science and technology museum with hands-on exhibits, IMAX theater, and STEM education programs. Comparable mid-size regional science museum with similar programming mix.
• Liberty Science Center: Jersey City, NJ science center with interactive STEM exhibits, planetarium, and K-12 programs. Comparable mid-size regional science museum with similar programming and audience.
• Carnegie Science Center: Pittsburgh-based science museum offering hands-on STEM exhibits, a dome theater, and educational programs. Highly comparable as a Midwestern regional science museum with similar exhibit, camp, and membership models.
• Pacific Science Center: Seattle-based science center featuring IMAX theater, planetarium, and hands-on exhibits. Comparable mid-size regional science museum with theater-based programming and K-12 outreach.
• Catawba Science Center: Hickory, NC science center where VP of Exhibits William Katzman previously served as Director of Exhibits. Smaller-scale direct peer with similar hands-on STEM exhibits and educational programming.
• COSI (Center of Science and Industry): Columbus, Ohio science center with interactive exhibits, planetarium, and STEM programs. Most direct geographic and operational peer — same state, similar footprint and audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Lakes Science Center