L.A.'s California Science Center: Final Home of Shuttle Endeavour (Photos)

California Science Center's Howard F. Ahmanson Building is seen here from the Exposition Park Rose Garden. Soon to be the home of retired space shuttle Endeavour, the museum also offers many other space and science exhibits for visitors. See our photos of Endeavour flying to Los Angeles. Plan a visit to the California Science Center with info from their website, www.californiasciencecenter.org.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (at left) joined others on May 17, 2012 at the California Science Center to name the new and future home of NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour for the late Samuel Oschin, an entrepreneur, explorer and philanthropist.

The California Science Center stands in Exposition Park, Los Angeles.

Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) performs a low flyby past the tower at Los Angeles International Airport, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Endeavour, built as a replacement for space shuttle Challenger, completed 25 missions, spent 299 days in orbit, and orbited Earth 4,671 times while traveling 122,883,151 miles. Beginning Oct. 30, the shuttle will be on display in the California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion, embarking on its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and educate and inspire future generations of explorers.

This map shows the 12-mile route the space shuttle Endeavour will take from Los Angeles International Airport (lower left) to the California Science Center on Oct. 12-13, 2012.

Space shuttle Endeavour is seen atop the Over Land Transporter in a hangar at Los Angeles International Airport.

The overland transporter is moved into position below the space shuttle Endeavour not long after the orbiter was demated from the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) during the early morning hours on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, at Los Angeles International Airport.

A crowd of people is on hand to greet shuttle Endeavour at Los Angeles International Airport on September 21, 2012, as seen in this still taken from a NBC4 television broadcast.

Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) lands at Los Angeles International Airport, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. The shadow of a NASA F-18 chase jet wing is shown in the foreground. Endeavour, built as a replacement for space shuttle Challenger, completed 25 missions, spent 299 days in orbit, and orbited Earth 4,671 times while traveling 122,883,151 miles. Beginning Oct. 30, the shuttle will be on display in the California Science center's Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion, embarking on its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and educate and inspire future generations of explorers.

Interior of the California Science Center showing the main atrium.

The Aerial Mobile hangs in The Robert H. Lorsch Family Pavilion of the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The pavilion stands 88 feet high and is 100 feet in diameter. Inside a swirl of colored light, from a skylight made of dichroic glass, fills the Lorsch Pavilion and envelops visitors in a color spectrum ranging from soft yellow to deep purple, depending on the position of the sun. A centerpiece of the pavilion is the Aerial Mobile, a hanging sculpture comprised of 1,578 spheres, each hand-covered in gold leaf and palladium leaf, varying in size from 3 inches to 7 inches. The spheres, symbolizing the planets of the universe, are attached to 342 cables suspended from the ceiling of the Lorsch Pavilion.

This photo shows the old and new structures of the California Science Center blended.