Overview & History
Founded in 1934, miSci is a center for learning, imagination, and creativity. The Museum moved to its current location on Nott Terrace in Schenectady, New York, in 1969. In 1997, the Museum merged with the General Electric Hall of Electrical History, creating a combined collection of more than 15,000 science and technology artifacts, thousands of advertising publications, 1,500 films, 400 audio recordings, and two million photographs documenting the history of electricity, electronics, and the impact of technological change. miSci hosts approximately 400 researchers annually and receives around 2,000 queries each year. Artifacts from the collections and archives are often featured in the Museum’s exhibitions and programs. miSci is housed in a 44,270-square-foot facility that includes gallery space, the Suits-Beuche Planetarium, and classrooms.
Mission & Vision
At miSci, exhibitions, educational programs, and events are designed with our mission in mind: “to inspire people to celebrate and explore science and technology past, present, and future.” The Museum fulfills its mission by preserving and interpreting the history of technological change and its societal impact, helping visitors explore the creative processes that inspire discovery and invention, and engaging visitors with interactive exhibitions and programs that encourage them to inquire about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subject areas.