History

The seed for a Syracuse science museum appealing to all ages was planted in 1977 when the local chapters of the Junior League and National Council of Jewish Women, and the Technology Club of Syracuse (now Technology Alliance of Central New York) recognized the need and joined forces. The Discovery Center of Science opened its doors on Nov. 15, 1981, in a storefront at 321 S. Clinton St. in downtown Syracuse. It was the first hands-on science museum in Upstate New York.

On Oct. 27, 1992, the Museum, renamed the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology, opened to the public in its new location in the former Syracuse Armory building with new hands-on exhibits and the Silverman Planetarium, at the time the only public planetarium in Central New York. The Bristol IMAX Omnitheater, the only domed film IMAX theater in New York State, opened Jan. 26, 1997.

From 2004 to 2015, the MOST added six new permanent exhibits and operated 35,000 square feet of exhibit space.

The Armory building itself has a storied history and is featured below in a video created by the Onondaga Historical Association.