In 1989 Chabot Observatory & Science Center was formed as a Joint Powers Agency with the City of Oakland, the Oakland Unified School District, and the East Bay Regional Park District, in collaboration with the Eastbay Astronomical Society, and in 1992 was recognized as a nonprofit organization. The project was led by Chabot's Executive Director and CEO, Dr.
Michael D. Reynolds, breaking ground for the facility in October 1996 with construction of the new Science Center beginning in May 1998. In January 2000, anticipating the opening of the new facility, the organization changed its name from Chabot Observatory & Science Center to Chabot Space & Science Center. The new name was chosen to better convey the organization's focus on astronomy and the
space sciences, while communicating both the broad range and the technologically advanced nature of programs available in the new Science Center. Opened August 19, 2000, the Chabot Space & Science Center is an , state-of-the-art science and technology education facility on a site in the hills of Oakland, California, adjoining the western boundary of Redwood Regional Park. ==See also==