Western Science Center

04/07/2026

The 11th annual Inland Empire Science Festival returns to the Western Science Center on April 18th, 2026!

Over twenty science organizations from across Southern California will be taking part in this year’s annual Inland Empire Science Festival, which aims to highlight the incredible scientific research happening in the region. For the price of regular museum admission, visitors will be able to check out the sky with Temecula Valley Astronomers, learn about local geology from the UCR Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, dive into the world of insect conservation with The Xerces Society, and much, much more.

Local businesses Buffet Ranch and Sweet Frecklez will be onsite with food and drink available for purchase during the festival.

The Inland Empire Science Festival will take place at the Western Science Center on Saturday, April 18th from 10AM to 4PM and attendance is free with regular museum admission. Admission to the Western Science Center is $10.00 for adults, $8.50 for seniors 62+, $7.00 for students 13-22 w/ID, $7.00 for youth 5-12, under 4 years old is free, and Active Military (individual) w/ID is free.

02/20/2026

📣 We’re hiring!

🔧 We’re looking for a new Full-Time Facilities Lead at the Western Science Center! If you like hands-on work and want to help us keep our buildings and exhibits in great shape, this might be the role for you.

🪜Check out https://www.westernsciencecenter.org/employment for more info on the position and to submit an application.

02/13/2026

Special delivery! 🐋

Sometimes scientific research involves one museum loaning fossils to another. Our friends helped us pack up some s***m whale fossils that will go on loan to WSC so we can study them! A project like this involves a lot of coordination, including making sure the fossils are ready for cross-country transport.

Thanks so much to Adam, Lucy, and everyone else at VMNH for making this possible! We can’t wait to see what we discover about these whales.

02/06/2026

Horse cleaning party! 🎉 🐴

WSC volunteers are hard at work getting a 1-million-year-old horse fossil ready for prime time. This specimen will go on permanent exhibit later this year - stay tuned for more information on that soon! 👀

01/27/2026

This year, the Western Science Center celebrates our 20th anniversary! 🎉🦣

We're planning a suite of new exhibits, events, and more to mark the occasion, but let's kick things off with a special blog post by WSC Executive Director Dr. Alton Dooley detailing the museum's origins.

This year (2026) marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Western Science Center. To commemorate this event, each month I'll be doing one post that specifically related to some aspect of the museum's history. A lot of California politics and planning revolves around water. Much of the state'...

01/19/2026

WSC researchers Dr. Brett Dooley, Educator and Events Manager, and Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg, Collections and Communications Manager, are currently in Nairobi, Kenya, for the International Conference on Mammoths and their Relatives! 🦣🇰🇪

This conference brings proboscideans researchers from across the world to share their work and collaborate on future projects. WSC is home to one of the largest collection of mastodons in the western United States, so we’re excited to bring our scientific research into these amazing fossils to the international stage!

01/02/2026

📣 Calling all local students in grades 9-12 - we’re recruiting for our second cohort of Teen Ambassadors!

🔬 Gain behind the scenes experience at the Western Science Center, work directly with our team of scientists, and develop your own museum project and present it at this year’s Inland Empire Science Festival!

✨ Apply today! https://www.westernsciencecenter.org/teen-ambassador

12/31/2025

Just a reminder that the museum and the museum office will be closed on December 31st and January 1st for the holiday. We will resume normal business hours on Friday, January 2nd at 10AM.

12/30/2025

We got one last Christmas gift here at WSC! 🎁✨

A new Dunkleosteus cast has arrived here at the museum thanks to the talented folks ! We’re getting ready to launch a whole new exhibit in Max’s Mobile Museum - stayed tuned for more 🌊

10/25/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the opening reception of Life in the Slow Lane last night - the exhibit is NOW OPEN! Stop by the museum to learn all about snails and slugs from around the world! 🐚🐌

10/21/2025

Due to a planned power outage, the museum will be closing early this Thursday, October 23rd - we will stop ticket sales at 2:30PM. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause!