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Publication: Palm Beach Post; Date: Mar 1, 2016; Section: Business; Page: B6
SCIENCE CENTER AND AQUARIUM EXPANSION
Science center unveils $2M outdoor
park plan
By Jennifer Sorentrue Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH — The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium in West Palm Beach unveiled
plans Monday for a new8-acre outdoor park, marking the first phase of an expansion effort that could
transform the nonprofit's exhibit space and ultimately link the center's campus to the neighboring Palm
Beach Zoo.
The outdoor park will include 25 new hands-on science exhibits and a mini-golf course, designed by
Gary Nicklaus and Jim Fazio, sons of two local icons of the golf course industry.
The science center broke ground on the 18-hole "Conservation Course" on Monday. Construction is
expected to be completed in May. Center officials said they hope to eventually open the course for evening
and nighttime play.
The outdoor park will also feature a science-themed playground, a splash pad, a human sundial, a
dinosaur walk and a bandstand. The project is expected to cost about $2 million. The outdoor play area
and other features are expected to open next year.
Ultimately, the science center hopes to connect the new outdoor space to the Palm Beach Zoo's grounds,
making one large campus for the two organizations, Lew Cramp-ton, the science center's chief executive
officer, said.
Under that plan, the science center's main building would grow from roughly 40,000 square feet to
roughly 60,000 square feet, Cramp-ton said. The expanded building would be visible from Interstate 95.
'�Palm Beach County deserves a great science center;' Crampton said. ��Our goal is to be one of the Top
10 medium-sized science centers in the country."
The science center is part of a group of private cultural organizations who have backed a plan to ask
Palm Beach County voters to raise the county's sales tax by a penny to help fund their expansion efforts,
while also paying for a host of government and school projects.
If approved by county voters, the plan would raise the county's sales tax to 7 percent for a 10-year
period, generating about $2.6 billion. The money would be split between several cultural groups, the
school district, the county government, and the county's 38 municipalities. jsorentrue@pbpost.com
Twitter: @sorentruepbp
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This artist's rendering shows an aerial view of the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium's new 8-
acre outdoor park. OfFicials broke ground Monday on the park's mini-golf course. CONTRIBUTED