Before there was the National Aquarium, before there was Harborplace, the Maryland Science Center was the new kid on the block, in the vanguard of Inner Harbor redevelopment.

“Combining enlightenment, entertainment and inspiration in a uniquely dynamic new format is the goal of the science center,” read a Sun editorial from June 13, 1976, the day the building opened to the public. “The future potential of the science center seems unlimited, and it deserves the full support of all Marylanders.”

City planners settled on the Light Street location in 1966 after opting against a proposed site between Light and Charles streets. Groundbreaking was on Sept. 9, 1971. Two former Maryland governors, J. Millard Tawes and Theodore R. McKeldin, were on hand to help.

During the ceremony, Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro III called the science center “the jewel in the crown of the Inner Harbor program.”

By the time the $9.4 million center opened nearly five years later, hopes were high that this would be but the first step in transforming the Inner Harbor. The Sun, in its opening day editorial, referred to the building, with its nearly 20,000 square feet of exhibit space, as an “architectural delight.”

The science center celebrates its 40th anniversary Saturday, with a party that includes music, free birthday cake and admission prices rolled back to 1976 levels ($2.50 for adults, $1 for children).

chris.kaltenbach@baltsun.com