History
Incorporated in 1955, the Central Florida Museum (CFM) opened in Orlando Loch Haven Park in 1960. For its first decade, it was an anthropology museum with collections of artifacts relating to Florida and the Caribbean Basin.
In the early 1970s, the CFM's board of directors voted to change directions and to become a "hands-on" science and technology center. In 1973 the institution was renamed to honor a famous native son and astronaut, John Young.
In 1984, as part of an expansion and change of philosophy, the institution's name was changed to Orlando Science Center. In 1985 another major expansion created a permanent physical sciences hall, a traveling exhibit hall, and Curiosity Corner, a hands-on exhibit area dedicated to pre-school and early primary age children. During the final expansion to the original facility in 1990, NatureWorks, a prototype for OSC's centerpiece natural science exhibit was created.
In May 1992, the Board and staff developed a comprehensive master plan for the Orlando Science Center, including a blueprint for construction of an entirely new science center. Construction of the new science center began in early 1995.
The new 207,000 sq ft (19,200 m2). Orlando Science Center celebrated its grand opening on February 1, 1997. It is six times larger than the original facility, which closed December 31, 1996. The current president and CEO of the science center is JoAnn Newman.
Read more about this topic: Orlando Science Center
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“Those who weep for the happy periods which they encounter in history acknowledge what they want; not the alleviation but the silencing of misery.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“The history of modern art is also the history of the progressive loss of art’s audience. Art has increasingly become the concern of the artist and the bafflement of the public.”
—Henry Geldzahler (1935–1994)
“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)