Gift to fund new exhibition hall, educational programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       
November 24, 2010

For further information, contact:
Beth McClure, Director of Communications, Saint Louis Science Center
314.289.1455, 314.267.9916, bmcclure@slsc.org

ST. LOUIS - The Saint Louis Science Center announced it has received a $5 million gift from The Boeing Company.

The gift was announced at the Boeing St. Louis Partnership for the Future Rally held on Nov. 22, 2010, which celebrated Boeing St. Louis’ rich aerospace heritage, military aircraft developments and strategic partnerships.

“Boeing employees consider it an honor, but also a responsibility to share our success with the region,” said Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security at the event. “We view this gift to the Saint Louis Science Center as an investment in the future of science and technology, because it will help the institution better serve and educate its visitors, advancing the region’s science literacy and building the skilled workforce of the future.”

According to Science Center officials, a portion of the gift will be used to fund the Science Center’s new exhibition hall, already under construction. The rest will support the institution’s educational programs and initiatives, including the expansion of programs like Youth Exploring Science and plans for more modern, interactive exhibits about critical topics like energy, climate change, the life sciences and flight.

“A gift of this magnitude will help ensure we’re able to realize our strategic vision for the future,” said Doug King, President and CEO of the Saint Louis Science Center. “We are extremely grateful to Boeing for its generosity and applaud its foresight in supporting science and technology education.”

The Science Center’s strategic vision focuses on three main areas - maintaining a World-Class Science Center, expanding its educational programs into a formal organization called the Institute for Science Learning, and becoming not just the Science Center, but a Center for Science, the place to which people can turn for all science and technology information.

According to King, the new exhibition hall, funded partially by the Boeing gift, is vital to this vision. The 13,000 square foot addition will provide a needed venue to better accommodate traveling exhibitions, and provide space to house unique educational activities on a distinctive, green rooftop terrace.

“Boeing has been an exemplary corporate citizen in this community,” said King. “Its continued support of not only the Science Center, but also programs like FIRST Robotics has inspired countless St. Louis students to pursue engineering careers and solidified its commitment to the work force of the future.”

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Saint Louis Science Center
The Saint Louis Science Center is one of the top five science centers in the United States, serving 1.2 million visitors annually. Recently named one of the Top 10 Science Centers for Families by Parents magazine and one of America’s most visited museums by Forbes Traveler Magazine, – the only museum in Missouri to be named to either list - the Saint Louis Science Center complex includes a four-story OMNIMAX Theater, the air-supported EXPLORADOME and the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. Its mission is to ignite and sustain lifelong science and technology learning.  For more information about the Saint Louis Science Center and its programs, visit slsc.org