Michigan Science Center is a Detroit science museum and Smithsonian-affiliate institution that serves as a STEM-focused community hub with interactive exhibits, live demonstrations, theaters, and statewide educational programs. Founded in 1970 as the Detroit Science Center through the vision of Dexter Ferry, it moved to its Midtown home in 1978 near other major cultural institutions. The center expanded repeatedly, including a major renovation and addition completed in 2001 that tripled exhibit space, and later added new theater and planetarium facilities. After closures tied to funding and financial problems, a new organization reopened it in 2012 under its current name, continuing its nonprofit educational mission.