McWane Science Center, Birmingham (must see)

The McWane Science is a science museum and research archive located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The state-of-the-art science center, aquarium and 280-seat IMAX Dome Theater is housed in the historic and refurbished Loveman's department store building. It opened to the public on July 11, 1998. Inside are more than 9,000 square feet of interactive exhibits, including the Challenger Learning Center of Alabama, created in memory of the Space Shuttle Challenger Flight 51-L crew.

The World of Water exhibit showcases more than 50 species of marine and freshwater aquatic life. The Alabama Collections Center is the home for more than 500,000 artifacts from the former Red Mountain Museum. The center houses precious minerals, fossils and Native American artifacts. Highlights in the collection include the world's fourth-largest collection of mosasaurs; the Appalachiosaurus and the state fossil of Alabama, the Basilosaurus cetoides. The McWane Science Center is named after the McWane family and McWane, Inc. both of which helped fund the center.