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A NEW LOCATION Until 1999 , the museum was located on Wabasha street in downtown Saint Paul, but in that year the museum moved to a new complex on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River . The new building is larger and better equipped to handle the demands of large group visits and includes bigger facilities for the education division and exhibit galleries. PERMANENT EXHIBITS A number of permanent exhibits entertain and education thousands of people each year in the museum. Among them are:
THE OMNITHEATER The new building has a dual-screen IMAX/Omnimax theater, with both a wall screen for IMAX films and other flat presentations, and a rotatable Dome for viewing Omnifilms, the first such convertible theater in the Northern Hemisphere. The domed screen can be rotated around the theater to reveal the IMAX screen. The Counterweight s for the system were so massive that they had to be put in place before the rest of the building. The theaters boasts "the largest permanently installed electronic cinema projector in the world," an advanced computer system to coordinate the theater's facilities, and a complex sound system to accommodate both viewing formats, according to the website . The museum has been a leading producer of Omnifilms, with ten to its credit so far:
OTHER FACILITIES The Collections Vault The museum houses a collection of over 1.7 million artifacts and objects in its vault, ranging from dinosaur and other animal remains and fossils, preseved animals and plants, and cultural artifacts from extinct and extant civilizations. The collections division maintains a staff of scientists and researchers including Paleontologist s, Archaeologist s, Ecologist s, Biologist s, Ethnologist s, and Archivist s. Students and researchers regularly visit the vault to take advantage of the unique collection, but it is not open to regular museum visitors. Education The museum also has an extensive education division. In addition to many on-site youth and family classes and day camps, museum programs are also hosted at various schools throughout the region. Day classes often involve science, technology, nature, and art themes. Overnight camp-ins let large groups sleep on the exhibit floor and have time to explore the galleries and view an Omnifilm as a group. The museum is also one of the leading professional development resources for teachers in the state. Restaurants Three locations in the museum offer visitors food. A Caribou Coffee shop (the OmniStop) is located outside the Omnitheater's entrance in the museum lobby. The Elements Cafe offers a full menu, including grill and deli options, pizza, and specialty foods. Finally, Chomp, located outside the Dinosaurs and Fossils gallery, serves many cafeteria-style foods. The Elements Cafe and the OmniStop are both open to the public without purchasing museum admission. 3D Cinema In addition to the Omnitheater, the museum has a cinema for showing 3D Film s. EXTERNAL LINKS
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