Things To Do
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is Central Pennsylvania’s premier center for education and cultural enrichment. Whitaker Center is a thought leader in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) engagement for all ages and backgrounds. We believe that by investing our resources in educating, entertaining, and engaging visitors, we can spark a movement that makes our community a better place to live, work, and play.
Science Exhibitions
PNC Community Day
Join us for PNC Community Day at Whitaker Center on Thursday, April 17, from 5–7 PM, and enjoy an evening of free family-friendly fun! Explore the exciting PNC Innovation Zone, where kids ages 10+ can engage in interactive, hands-on experiences that spark creativity and curiosity. Step into the Above and Beyond Traveling Exhibit, a high-flying adventure that takes you to the limits of aerospace innovation. Get hands-on with an engaging STEAM activity, dive into the wonders of our Science Center, and cap off the evening with a free movie showing.
Above And Beyond
ABOVE AND BEYOND celebrates the power of innovation to make dreams take flight. This 5,000-square-foot traveling aerospace exhibition features: immersive simulations, interactive design challenges, iconic historical touchstones, visionary concepts for the future, and inspiring stories from game-changing innovators, past and present. Packed with fun interactive challenges, vehicle concept models and prototypes, immersive media presentations, and inspiring stories, this large-scale exhibition invites you to experience what it takes to make the “impossible” possible. Explore ever more advanced aircraft and spacecraft that change our lives and transform our world. And join the epic journey into the sky and beyond!
STEM Design Studios
Get hands-on with different STEM topics. These engaging activities will allow parents and kids to explore STEM topics together, learning as a team. Enjoy activities and design challenges with Ozobots™ , Spheros™, 3Doodler™ 3D printing pens, tangrams, K’NEX® and much more!
Carnival of Health
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls — step right up and experience the one and only Carnival of Health. More than 2,200 square feet of fun-filled themed entertainment opens your eyes to the wonders of healthy living and the human body.
Backstage Studio
Funded by The Alexander Grass Foundation, Backstage Studio features fascinating exhibits that reveal the science and technology behind movies, TV, music, and theatre. Create your own stop-action film, put yourself into the movies in the Foley Studio, and explore the creation of different sound effects in this interactive gallery.
Forces of Nature Exhibit
Through compelling stories of natural forces and environmental change, Forces of Nature is both an exciting thematic area and a relevant science topic that affects everyone’s daily life. The permanent gallery provides guests with the opportunity to experience a variety of extraordinary weather wonders featuring physical “phenomenon-based” exhibits.
Upcoming Shows
Four Phantoms In Concert
An extravagant celebration of the iconic music of Broad way and more, The Four Phantoms In Concert brings together four Phantoms from the Tony Award – winning The Phantom of the Opera for an unforgettable night of entertainment. The Four Phantoms features an extraordinary quartet of performers, including Brent Barrett, John Cudia, Francm D’Ambrosio, and Ciarán Sheehan under the music direction of Ryan Shirar.
Pennsylvania Regional Ballet Spring Gala Concert
Join us on April 12th for an unforgettable evening of stunning ballet performances by the talented dancers of the Pennsylvania Regional Ballet at their Spring Gala Concert!
An Open Book: An Evening with Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October
Experience an intimate and unforgettable evening with Justin Furstenfeld, the dynamic frontman of Blue October, as he brings his captivating solo show, An Open Book, to the Whitaker Center. Through heartfelt stories, raw emotions, and acoustic renditions of Blue October’s greatest hits, Justin invites you on a journey through his life and artistry. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to connect with the music and the man behind it in a way like never before.
Murder on the Orient Express
“I believe it was the greatest case of my career, but who am I to say? Modesty forbids it.” Our fourth show of Season 99 will be a real nail-biter… AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS! Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again. Running April 25-May 11 at the Whitaker Center.
Hershey School of Dance & Arts: Celebrate 2025
Hershey School of Dance & Arts proudly presents “Celebrate!” 2025 Join us for our annual recital as we celebrate a year of growth and learning, our wonderful students and community, and dance and the arts! At HSDA, we believe that there is always something to celebrate!
Killer Queen
Lead singer Patrick Myers said “It’s been an amazing journey. That first show changed my life. We thought our band would last maybe a summer at the most but it’s a very addictive thing performing these songs. The concerts grew and grew and we’ve ended up playing and selling out the same arenas that Queen played at their peak. It’s been quite a surreal ride. Becoming regular performers Red Rocks Arena in America is another highlight . The Beatles, U2, Springsteen, Dylan all played on that stage. It’s really got it’s own kind of magic going on there”
Girls Night The Musical
See the Off-Broadway sensation that audiences can’t get enough of from coast to coast! Share the fun and laughter in this hilarious, feel-good comedy as five girlfriends re-live their past, celebrate their present, and look to the future on a wild night out! Featuring the most famous female empowerment hits of the last four decades including “Lady Marmalade,” “It’s Raining Men,” “Man I Feel Like A Woman,” “I Will Survive,” and many more.
All-4-One
The Grammy Award-Winning group, All-4-One, is internationally known for making beautiful love songs that not only chart radio airwaves, but also garner countless awards.
Late Nite Catechism
“Step back into your youth with Late Nite Catechism – a hilarious theatrical experience like no other! Join the irrepressible Sister as she leads her class through a riotous journey of laughter and nostalgia. From glow-in-the-dark rosaries to cheeky antics, every moment is packed with fun and surprises. Whether you’re a model student or a bit mischievous, Sister’s classroom is where you’ll want to be. Don’t miss out on the interactive theater event that The New York Times hails as ‘full of laughs’ – Late Nite Catechism awaits!”
The Machine performs Pink Floyd
Join us at Whitaker Center on November 26, 2025, for an unforgettable night with The Machine, the acclaimed Pink Floyd tribute band that has been extending the legendary group’s musical legacy for over 30 years.
Currently Playing
Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West
The film chronicles a group of explorers – the Corps of Discovery – led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark into uncharted territory to find a water passageway to the Pacific Ocean and describe for science the wonders of the West.
Great Bear Rainforest
Journey to a land of grizzlies, coastal wolves, sea otters and the all-white spirit bear — the rarest bear on earth — in the film Great Bear Rainforest 3D, narrated by Ryan Reynolds.
Ireland
Journey to a magical land of stunning natural wonders, ancient clifftop marvels, and a rich, cultural heritage in the new film Ireland for IMAX® and giant screen theatres.
Super Human Body: World of Medical Marvels
Super Human Body: World of Medical Marvels combines state-of-the-art CGI and live-action cinematography to explore the inner workings of our bodies and show how science and technology can help us intervene, and even save lives, when our bodies fail us.
Into America’s Wild 3D
From the Academy Award® nominated producers of the acclaimed hit film National Parks Adventure comes Into America’s Wild, a visually stunning cross-country adventure into the hidden wonders of the natural world.
Expedition Chesapeake, A Journey of Discovery
Expedition Chesapeake, A Journey of Discovery is the first giant-screen film to capture the stunning natural beauty of the largest estuary in North America.
Tiny Giants 3D
Enter a magical world beneath our feet. Tiny Giants 3D reveals the astonishing lives of the smallest of animals.
Dream Big: Engineering Our World
From the world’s tallest building to underwater robots and a solar car race across Australia, Dream Big celebrates the human ingenuity and stories behind engineering marvels big and small, and reveals the heart that drives engineers to create better lives for people around the world.
Journey to Space 3D
In the past half century, humans have punched through the stratosphere, walked on the moon, and lived continuously in orbit. In the coming decades, our unquenchable curiosity will take our species beyond the cradle of Earth to touch the face of another world.
Flight of the Butterflies
It is a natural history epic. It is a detective story. Join hundreds of millions of real butterflies on an amazing journey to a remote and secret hideaway, and one scientist’s 40-year search to unravel the mystery – where do they go each fall? Experience the Flight of the Butterflies 3D.
National Parks Adventure 3D
Narrated by Academy Award® winner Robert Redford, National Parks Adventure takes audiences on the ultimate off-trail adventure into the nation’s awe-inspiring great outdoors and untamed wilderness.
Great Barrier Reef 3D
Every year millions of visitors travel by way of fins, flippers and feet to see one of the seven wonders of the natural world: the Great Barrier Reef – a living treasure trove of biodiversity.
Tornado Alley 3D
Tornado Alley is a giant-screen adventure that takes viewers on an epic chase through the “severe weather capital of the world.”
Forces of Nature
Forces of Nature will showcase the awesome spectacle of earthquakes, volcanoes, and severe storms as we follow scientists on their groundbreaking quests to understand how these natural disasters are triggered.
Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk 3D
Join environmental advocates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Wade Davis as they set out with their daughters, traveling deep into the Grand Canyon and down the river that runs through it.
Wings Over Water
Wings Over Water tells the story of the epic journeys of three amazing bird families – the Sandhill Crane, the Yellow Warbler and the Mallard Duck – with extraordinary footage of their fascinating behaviors.
Astronaut: Ocean to Orbit
Astronaut: Ocean to Orbit explores the ways in which NASA uses underwater environments to simulate life and work in space, offering a fascinating look into the high-tech world of astronauts.
T. REX
For over a hundred years dinosaurs have inspired and thrilled audiences, commanding blockbuster status in museums and at the box office. But among them towers a king — a tyrant lizard king. Working with top tyrannosaur scientists, a coalition of natural history institutions, and pioneering paleo and visual effects artists, GSF’s original giant screen production on this iconic dinosaur — and its carnivorous Cretaceous cousins — aims to be the most dazzling and accurate T. rex documentary ever made.
Special Events
Pennsylvania Regional Ballet Spring Gala Concert
Join us on April 12th for an unforgettable evening of stunning ballet performances by the talented dancers of the Pennsylvania Regional Ballet at their Spring Gala Concert!
PNC Community Day
Join us for PNC Community Day at Whitaker Center on Thursday, April 17, from 5–7 PM, and enjoy an evening of free family-friendly fun! Explore the exciting PNC Innovation Zone, where kids ages 10+ can engage in interactive, hands-on experiences that spark creativity and curiosity. Step into the Above and Beyond Traveling Exhibit, a high-flying adventure that takes you to the limits of aerospace innovation. Get hands-on with an engaging STEAM activity, dive into the wonders of our Science Center, and cap off the evening with a free movie showing.