California Science Center is a California state department in Exposition Park, a state-owned 152-acre tract in south 📝Los Angeles, whose mission, according to its 2025-26 state budget entry, is to stimulate curiosity and inspire science learning.
The 2025-26 enacted budget groups the Science Center with the Office of Exposition Park Management and the California African American Museum, the other two departments located in the park, under the single budget heading 3100 Exposition Park. The 2016-17 budget gave the same three departments the collective name California Science Center and described the tract as 160 acres.
According to the 2025-26 budget, the Science Center is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors appointed by the Governor. Its programs include the Center for Science Learning, which offers professional development programs for teachers and other educators, and the Science Center School, a K-5 neighborhood charter school focused on science, math and technology. The budget states that the California Science Center Foundation provides significant funding support for exhibit development, educational programs and capital outlay projects.
The budget lists 134.0 positions and about $30.0 million in expenditures for the Science Center program in 2025-26, compared with about $27.5 million in 2023-24, with about $24.8 million of the 2025-26 amount from the General Fund. It also includes a $664,000 General Fund proposal with 5.0 positions for core operations of the Phase III Air and Space Center facility.