On September 4, 1990, thanks the efforts of Senator John Heinz, the US Navy submarine USS Requin, was docked on the Ohio River next to the Carnegie Science Center and dedicated as a memorial and museum exhibit, open to public tours. For over twenty years now the boat has given Science Center visitors a first-hand glimpse at what it was like to serve on a World War II submarine.

The USS Requin was commissioned in April 1945. It was scheduled to take part in the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, but arrived in the Pacific theatre two weeks after the end of hostilities. The boat was in service until 1971, when it was removed from the Naval Vessel Register. From 1972 through 1986, the USS Requin was a tourist attraction in Tampa, Florida. For four years it sat idle until the efforts of Senator Heinz resurrected the rusting vessel. After hull repair and interior refurbishing, the ship was brought on barges to its new station in Pittsburgh.