About Us

Two Places in One?

If you come to the corner of Cleveland Massillon Rd. and Minor Rd. in Copley, Ohio, you will find a small facility that houses two exciting educational experiences to explore.  The first and most familiar is the Akron Fossils and Science Center with its traditional hands-on science programming that is sure to ignite a passion for learning.  Also inside the building is the newly separated and renovated Creation Education Museum.  The partnership between the two areas of discovery is like one tree, rooted in quality, hands-on science education, with two main branches:

• Akron Fossils and Science Center (Community Eduation):  This branch encompasses programs and activities for all ages which explore the general science of our world past, present, and future with hands-on programming and fun. 

• The Creation Education Museum (Creation Education): This branch encompasses programs and activities for all ages which explore theories and ideas about the origins of our Universe, as well as the relationship between science and the Bible.

So how does it work? When you stop in for a traditional tour, you get two experiences for the price of one! For the price of admission, you gain access to all 3 of our guided community tours ( See: What's Here) as well as our Creation Education Museum, which is housed within the center. You get to choose your learning experience. Go on one tour, two tours, or try out all four of our tours and activities! It's up to you what you explore. Access to our 2 acre park is also included with the price of admission! If you’re even more of an adventurer we also have a 200ft zipline that you can add on to your admission!

Under each branch, there are also individual programs that align with the mission and learning goals of their respective branches. While each branch is wholly separate from the other and features unique tours and programs, many of our programs and activities are offered within both branches and can be tailored to fit your specific learning goals. Feel free to call us at 330-665-3466 or email us at info@akronfossils.com if you have any questions about our programming or our two educational branches.

Keep reading to learn more about each branch.

Akron Fossils and Science Center

Akron Fossils & Science Center is a 501-c(3) nonprofit which exists to provide visitors of all ages with balanced, affordable, and hands-on educational opportunities to explore the science of the world past, present, and future.  We are more than a science center; we are a community of people dedicated to making learning fun and meaningful. We believe the best way to learn science is to experience it and this philosophy guides everything we do.

At Akron Fossils & Science Center, participants and visitors become more than observers; they become researchers, experimenters, and even educators. Our exhibits and programs let you experience science first-hand and encourage understanding and deep, critical thought. 

Akron Fossils & Science Center features a hands-on tour with science activities that put knowledge directly in your hands. Unlike many other science centers, our fossils aren’t always in glass cases; some are in your hands where you can truly experience and learn from these records of the past. Hold real fossils, make your own replicas, interact with live animals, and ask critical questions, just like real scientists.

In addition to our guided tour, we offer a wide variety of enriching science programs, all hands-on and designed to make science and learning fun and meaningful. Each and every activity is infused with educational fun from beginning to end. Our center features science themed birthday parties, live animals, monthly Super Science Saturdays, K-12 science classes, lecture series, educational days, overnight lock-ins, summer camps, and so much more.

We also look forward to having you enjoy our 2 1/2 acre outdoor adventure park called Truassic Park. Our park features a giant slide and a 200 FT ZIP- LINE!

A trip to Akron Fossils & Science Center provides more than something to do for one day; it ignites a passion for learning and exploration that lasts a lifetime.

Creation Education Museum

Located inside the Akron Fossils & Science Center, this small museum is dedicated to exploring new theories in many different areas of science, especially on topics that concern the origin of the Universe and life.  With 18 exhibits to explore, participants can spend time contemplating ideas about origins like the Intelligent Design theory, the catastrophism theory, and flood based geology.  

Guests are welcome to walk through the Creation Education Museum on their own, taking the information in at their own pace, or they may choose to go through with a guide who can answer any questions they may have.

How We Got Started

Akron Fossils & Science Center and its outdoor adventure park (called Truassic Park) were built over a period of two years by William Sanderson and his good friend Dennis Osborn. In June of 2005, AFSC officially opened its doors, run by a small, but devoted staff, giving tours to school groups and families. A majority of fossils and artifacts in the museum itself are from Mr. Sanderson's private collection that he started when he first conceived of the idea of building a science center that explored more than one perspective on origins of the Universe.

Over the years, this small science center has grown and flourished, expanding from a few rooms into an active science center with activities and programs both on-site and off that inspire a love of learning in curious minds of all ages. 

In 2016, the newly renovated museum part of the center was separated from the regular Akron Fossils and Science Center programming to become its own area of exploration as the new Creation Education Musuem. Now visitors can come and enjoy the traditional community education put on by the Akron Fossils and Science Center team or embark on a different path, exploring the creation education that takes places in the Creation Education Museum.  If visitors have enough time and are interested, they can even experience both! For over a decade, Akron Fossils & Science Center has been proud to offer hands-on science education that encourages critical thought and inspires a lifelong love of science and learning.