Gateway to Science in Bismarck is a center for curious minds of all ages that offer a range of hands-on science learning activities, programs, and adventures. Designed for adults and children alike, Gateway to Science was established by Frank Koch who had a vision of a place where people could come to enjoy the world of science and learn more about it at the same time. The mission of Gateway to Science is to encourage the discovery and exploration of science through interactive science-based experiences and to be a top-class facility that ‘inspires the scientist in everyone!’

Located in Bismarck, North Dakota, the interactive science center offers a variety of informal science learning opportunities, which include immersive exhibits and displays, unique programs, workshops, classes and community outreach projects, and special events throughout the year.

Opened in 1994, Gateway to Science became the only hands-on science center in North Dakota and has since grown into a leading science facility and educational resource in the region. The Center does this by featuring state-of-the-art exhibits and expanded educational outreach programming for students, teachers, and the community.

Gateway to Science provides hands-on and interactive science learning experiences for all ages, from preschool children to adults. The Center’s galleries are home to more than 90 immersive exhibits and displays that visitors are encouraged to touch and play with, and cover topics ranging from math, science, physics and nature to biology and beyond.

Gateway to Science offers a variety of educational programs for children, scholars, students and adults that provide engaging hands-on experiments, fun activities and games and age-appropriate information on specific science topics. Programs include after-school clubs such as the Science Discovery Club and the STEM Club, Super Science Seminars, Pre-School Discovery Hour, STEMZone, Summer Camps, and scholarships.

The Preschool Discovery Hour is a unique program designed for young children between the ages of three and five and presents age-appropriate opportunities for children to informally learn science concepts with their favorite adult. Small ideas are introduced and shown how real-world connections are made with the pressure of having to understand everything.

One of the annual events that the Gateway to Science hosts every year is the Environmental Festival. This popular event offers students the chance to meet professionals who work in the environmental sciences and gain a better understanding of how the science concepts they learn about in school are applied in everyday life. The festival also gives students the opportunity to find out more about the different careers in the various fields of environmental science and features an array of hands-on activities, experiments, and challenges.

Gateway to Science Traveling Science Trunks brings a slice of the Center’s science gallery to the classroom in the form of a large trunk which contains resource materials, activities, demonstrations, and a teacher’s guide.

1810 Schafer Street, Ste 1, Bismarck, ND 58501, Phone: 701-258-1975, website, Map

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