St. Louis ? A young boy lay in his sleeping bag high in the Sierra Mountains in California, staring at the sky.

Every summer, he came here to camp and fish with his family, but this particular night somehow was different.

“I was in grade school, and I remember lying there in that natural environment, looking up at the canopy of stars, watching it move. That was the moment that sparked my interest in science and in the world around me,” said Doug King, now in his 10th year as president and chief executive officer of the St. Louis Science Center.

King, 58, spends his days working to provide that moment of awakened curiosity for youngsters who visit the Science Center.

“Ask anyone how they first got interested in the world around them, and they can trace it to the moment when an adult took them somewhere and showed them something,” King said. “We know that a center like this provides an opportunity for that to happen, because there is good research on this.

King said his job is to help create that moment and to provide support materials after the light bulb goes on.

The biggest challenge facing the Science Center, King says, is keeping the institution up-to-date.

“Science changes all the time, and we want to keep the exhibits current, to present timely topics. I don’t know that we’ve always done the best job of that, but we have a lot of people working on it,” he said.

Doug King is in his 10th year as president and chief executive officer of the St. Louis Science Center.

Not everyone would agree that the Science Center’s biggest challenge is keeping up to date. Some still are grumbling about the renovation of the Planetarium in 2001. The Star Theater, a longtime popular feature at the Planetarium, was replaced with a $3.5 million Zeiss projector that can reveal what the night sky looked like on any given date. To view that sky, visitors must crane their necks upward, as the cushy seats in the theater all were removed.

Late last year, Rich Heuermann, of the St. Louis Astronomical Society, told the Post-Dispatch, “It’s almost as if they took a Porsche engine (in the Zeiss projector) and put it in an Edsel.” Others have complained that the presentations are too short and lack depth, but the Science Center has reported that research shows that visitors want “an informal experience.”

Despite the pressures of leading an organization with an $18 million annual budget and overseeing a staff of 280 plus 55 volunteers, King has a relaxed, easygoing management style. He is an affable, down-to-earth fellow, fond of crisp sports shirts and quick with a grin and a wave for one and all.

“I love my job, because I don’t sit in an office and move paper and make phone calls,” King said. “My job is about real people.”

On any given day, he may meet with staff, visiting scientists, educators, community members, neighborhood organizations and civic leaders.

King holds a degree in engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration, specializing in finance, from the University of Washington. He spent nearly 20 years in the electronics industry and then served for five years as president of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in Washington, D.C.

Looking ahead, King said: “The future of space exploration will be like the Lewis and Clark era of exploration. It’s all going to be brand new. After all, we’re going to try to answer the most fundamental question: Are we alone? If we are, that may be as profound as if we are not.”