Things To Do
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is Central Pennsylvania’s premier center for education and cultural enrichment. Whitaker Center is a thought leader in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) engagement for all ages and backgrounds. We believe that by investing our resources in educating, entertaining, and engaging visitors, we can spark a movement that makes our community a better place to live, work, and play.
Science Exhibitions
Girls in STEAM
Join Whitaker Center for workshops designed for girls in 3rd – 8th grade, with activities that connect with real-world applications of STEAM through design, programming, coding, engineering, and more!
Adults Night Out
Why should kids have all the fun?! Dive into the wonders of the Whitaker Center and explore interactive exhibits, including our traveling exhibit – Under The Canopy! Drink beer with boas, sip sodas with sloths, and get your weekend started with geckos. Featuring a cash Beer & Wine Bar. Please note, this event is 21+.
Under The Canopy
Don’t miss Under The Canopy, an exciting exhibit featuring rainforest animals, live plants, and engaging presentations at Whitaker Center!
Kids Place
A destination for the youngest explorers! Designed with a cityscape theme this gallery includes a life-sized Operation Game, X-Ray Table, Pin Ball Falls, and much more.
STEM Design Studios
Get hands-on with different STEM topics. These engaging activities will allow parents and kids to explore STEM topics together, learning as a team. Enjoy activities and design challenges with Ozobots™ , Spheros™, 3Doodler™ 3D printing pens, tangrams, K’NEX® and much more!
Forces of Nature Exhibit
Through compelling stories of natural forces and environmental change, Forces of Nature is both an exciting thematic area and a relevant science topic that affects everyone’s daily life. The permanent gallery provides guests with the opportunity to experience a variety of extraordinary weather wonders featuring physical “phenomenon-based” exhibits.
Carnival of Health
Step right up and experience the one and only Carnival of Health at Whitaker Center. More than 2,200 square feet of fun-filled themed entertainment opens your eyes to the wonders of healthy living and the human body.
Backstage Studio
Funded by The Alexander Grass Foundation, Backstage Studio features fascinating exhibits that reveal the science and technology behind movies, TV, music, and theatre. Create your own stop-action film, put yourself into the movies in the Foley Studio, and explore the creation of different sound effects in this interactive gallery.
Upcoming Shows
Dance Revelation
Explore Dance Revelation’s “Faith”, a journey of faith highlighting love, healing, and hope in God through life’s challenges.
BoDeans
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of BoDeans with a two-and-a-half-hour show featuring retrospective hits from five decades.
Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: In Concert
Relive the magic of Labyrinth with a special 40th anniversary event featuring the film with a live musical score on September 22, 2026!
The Brit Pack – British Invasion and More
Performing music by Led Zeppelin, Queen, and The Rolling Stones, to David Bowie, Oasis, Tears for Fears, and more, The Brit Pack covers everything from the most iconic anthems of the sixties, to the modern classics of today!
Glenn Miller Orchestra
Experience the Glenn Miller Orchestra today, performing beloved hits and modern selections in the unforgettable Miller style.
The Machine performs Pink Floyd
Join us at Whitaker Center on November 25, 2026, for an unforgettable night with The Machine, the acclaimed Pink Floyd tribute band that has been extending the legendary group’s musical legacy for over 30 years.
Currently Playing
Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West
The film chronicles a group of explorers – the Corps of Discovery – led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark into uncharted territory to find a water passageway to the Pacific Ocean and describe for science the wonders of the West.
Great Bear Rainforest
Journey to a land of grizzlies, coastal wolves, sea otters and the all-white spirit bear — the rarest bear on earth — in the film Great Bear Rainforest 3D, narrated by Ryan Reynolds.
Ireland
Journey to a magical land of stunning natural wonders, ancient clifftop marvels, and a rich, cultural heritage in the new film Ireland for IMAX® and giant screen theatres.
Super Human Body: World of Medical Marvels
Super Human Body: World of Medical Marvels combines state-of-the-art CGI and live-action cinematography to explore the inner workings of our bodies and show how science and technology can help us intervene, and even save lives, when our bodies fail us.
Into America’s Wild 3D
From the Academy Award® nominated producers of the acclaimed hit film National Parks Adventure comes Into America’s Wild, a visually stunning cross-country adventure into the hidden wonders of the natural world.
Expedition Chesapeake, A Journey of Discovery
Expedition Chesapeake, A Journey of Discovery is the first giant-screen film to capture the stunning natural beauty of the largest estuary in North America.
Tiny Giants 3D
Enter a magical world beneath our feet. Tiny Giants 3D reveals the astonishing lives of the smallest of animals.
Dream Big: Engineering Our World
From the world’s tallest building to underwater robots and a solar car race across Australia, Dream Big celebrates the human ingenuity and stories behind engineering marvels big and small, and reveals the heart that drives engineers to create better lives for people around the world.
Journey to Space 3D
In the past half century, humans have punched through the stratosphere, walked on the moon, and lived continuously in orbit. In the coming decades, our unquenchable curiosity will take our species beyond the cradle of Earth to touch the face of another world.
Flight of the Butterflies
It is a natural history epic. It is a detective story. Join hundreds of millions of real butterflies on an amazing journey to a remote and secret hideaway, and one scientist’s 40-year search to unravel the mystery – where do they go each fall? Experience the Flight of the Butterflies 3D.
National Parks Adventure 3D
Narrated by Academy Award® winner Robert Redford, National Parks Adventure takes audiences on the ultimate off-trail adventure into the nation’s awe-inspiring great outdoors and untamed wilderness.
Great Barrier Reef 3D
Every year millions of visitors travel by way of fins, flippers and feet to see one of the seven wonders of the natural world: the Great Barrier Reef – a living treasure trove of biodiversity.
Tornado Alley 3D
Tornado Alley is a giant-screen adventure that takes viewers on an epic chase through the “severe weather capital of the world.”
Forces of Nature
Forces of Nature will showcase the awesome spectacle of earthquakes, volcanoes, and severe storms as we follow scientists on their groundbreaking quests to understand how these natural disasters are triggered.
Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk 3D
Join environmental advocates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Wade Davis as they set out with their daughters, traveling deep into the Grand Canyon and down the river that runs through it.
Astronaut: Ocean to Orbit
Astronaut: Ocean to Orbit explores the ways in which NASA uses underwater environments to simulate life and work in space, offering a fascinating look into the high-tech world of astronauts.
Wings Over Water
Wings Over Water tells the story of the epic journeys of three amazing bird families – the Sandhill Crane, the Yellow Warbler and the Mallard Duck – with extraordinary footage of their fascinating behaviors.
T. REX
For over a hundred years dinosaurs have inspired and thrilled audiences, commanding blockbuster status in museums and at the box office. But among them towers a king — a tyrant lizard king. Working with top tyrannosaur scientists, a coalition of natural history institutions, and pioneering paleo and visual effects artists, GSF’s original giant screen production on this iconic dinosaur — and its carnivorous Cretaceous cousins — aims to be the most dazzling and accurate T. rex documentary ever made.
Special Events
Community Day
Join us for this FREE Community Day on June 6th, 2026! Special Hours: Whitaker Center will close at 2 P.M.
Adults Night Out
Why should kids have all the fun?! Dive into the wonders of the Whitaker Center and explore interactive exhibits, including our traveling exhibit – Under The Canopy! Drink beer with boas, sip sodas with sloths, and get your weekend started with geckos. Featuring a cash Beer & Wine Bar. Please note, this event is 21+.