The 108-seat Rushton Science Theater is a state-of-the-art multimedia learning environment capable of hosting almost any type of program imaginable. When you visit Rushton, don’t be surprised if you encounter extraordinary fires or massive bolts of lightning! Don’t worry, though—we’ve got everything under control.

Rushton Science Theater is home to our largest presentations, including McWane’s very own Tesla coils, which you can see in action during our Lightning Strikes! program. Our Tesla coils feature two coupled resonant electric circuits, and we welcome visitors to come and see them on display throughout the day.

The theater is also home to a Van de Graaff Generator, an electrostatic machine that uses a moving belt to accumulate very high voltages on a hollow metal globe. Applications for these high-voltage generators include driving X-ray tubes, accelerating electrons to sterilize food and process materials, and accelerating protons for nuclear physics experiments.

The Explore! Lab is devoted to hands-on exploration of geology, paleontology, anthropology, and zoology. Learn how to classify feathers, butterflies, rocks, shells, and more. Take an interactive role in the scientific method with our computer stations. Develop your microscope skills. Touch fossils, skeletons, and rare minerals. There’s so much to do at McWane Science Center!

Explore the great outdoors inside the museum with McWane Science Center and the Birmingham Audubon Society! Learn the science of birds and bugs in the Audubon cabin and demonstration stage, where visitors can enjoy nature programs and live animal shows.

Check out the collection of Alabama birds, including a bald eagle, wild turkey, two extremely rare ivory-billed woodpeckers, and even a skull from the extinct dodo bird.

Then, get up close and personal with some resident creepy crawlies. Learn about the role insects play in our ecosystem in the decomposition chamber. Or, jump right in and meet our bugs, including a Tarantula and Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches!