Science Center receives $500000 state grant

The state has awarded the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium a $500,000 cultural facilities grant.

The West Palm Beach organization will use the grant to upgrade its west wing, the oldest part of the structure. The center plans to raise $1.5 million through the second phase of a capital campaign to make $2 million in improvements.

They include $1.5 million for the Hall of Discovery, which houses Challenge the Brain and Sprouting Science, a new early childhood learning station; $150,000 to re-roof the original 1964 building; $150,000 to upgrade the planetarium; $75,000 for an outdoor science trail and exhibits; $75,000 to make its current theater 3D capable, and improve sound and seating; and $50,000 for science lab upgrades.

“The state’s cultural facilities grant will allow us to introduce even more audiences to hands-on science in a truly spectacular setting,” Palm Beacher Lew Crampton, the center’s chief executive officer, said in a release announcing the grant. “We know that our area’s most lucrative future jobs are focused on science, technology, engineering and math, and we are betting that early exposure to science will get a kid excited about it as a career.”

A $4.9 million expansion unveiled last summer boosted the center’s size from 20,000 square feet to 32,000 square feet. Two of the highlights include an 8,000-gallon aquarium for freshwater and saltwater fish, and an interactive River of Grass exhibit.

Science Center receives $500000 state grant