Great Lakes Science Center

About

The Great Lakes Science Center stands on the Lake Erie shore in downtown Cleveland, beside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Browns' stadium, looking out over North Coast Harbor. It is a hands-on science museum built for families, with exhibits on physics, technology, the environment and the Great Lakes.

It is also home to the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, one of only 11 NASA visitor centers in the country, which is included with general admission. The Cleveland Clinic DOME Theater shows giant-screen nature and science films through the day. Docked outside is the Steamship William G. Mather, a restored 1920s Great Lakes freighter that opens on weekends in fall. Special exhibitions rotate; TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition runs through April 2027. A Mission Flight VR experience is on Level 2.

From September through April the Science Center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Thursday hours until 8 p.m., and closed Mondays. It also closes on Cleveland Browns home game days, which matters on fall Sundays, so check the schedule first. Buy tickets online or at the Box Office; the Science Center posts current prices on its website.

An attached 500-car garage has direct entry into the building from its lower level, and the Box Office validates tickets for a parking discount. Lockers by the garage entrance cost $3. The café has gluten-free and vegetarian options, and outdoor picnic areas look out over the harbor. The Rock Hall is next door, and downtown is a short walk or ride south.

Accessibility

The Great Lakes Science Center is wheelchair accessible. The Science Center says its building, including the Cleveland Clinic DOME Theater, is fully wheelchair accessible, and elevators reach every floor. The one exception is the historic Steamship William G. Mather, docked outside, which is not wheelchair accessible.

The attached 500-car garage has accessible parking spaces and a direct entrance into the building on its lower level. Pay at the Box Office and have your ticket validated for a discount. Wheelchairs are free to borrow, first come, first served. All restrooms are ADA accessible with changing stations, and family restrooms are on Level 2. A fully accessible Mamava lactation pod is on Level 2.

The DOME Theater has accessible seating and closed captioning; ask the Box Office for details.

A sensory room on Level 2 has lower lighting, hands-on materials, fidgets and weighted blankets, and the Box Office lends noise-reducing headphones. Every Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon, GLSC for Me runs as a museum-wide sensory-sensitive experience.

Trained service animals are welcome. Pets, therapy dogs and emotional support animals are not. A caregiver accompanying a guest with a disability gets in free; tell the Box Office when you arrive. Call (216) 694-2000 with other questions.

Checked by Accessible America, September 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Ohio

• Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland)
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland)
• Jack Cleveland Casino (Cleveland)
• Toledo Museum of Art (Toledo)
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Brecksville)
• Columbus Museum of Art (Columbus)

Photo credits

• The Great Lakes Science Center's glass atrium and white dome beside the harbor in Cleveland.: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• The Great Lakes Science Center sign and a row of solar panels above the entrance.: Kevin Payravi, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• The Great Lakes Science Center dome and a wind turbine on the Cleveland lakefront.: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)