Palm Beach County is changing rapidly and the Cox Science Center and Aquarium wants to change with it.
Its complex in West Palm Beach's Dreher Park is undergoing a $150 million renovation 65 years after
it opened, and its leaders are betting big on technology to transform it from a local attraction to one of the nation's premiere science museums.
The renovations will nearly triple the center’s indoor exhibit space to 100,000 square feet and will grow its aquarium to 160,000 gallons from 10,000, making it the fifth largest in Florida when it opens to visitors in December 2027.
The expansion will also add a STEAM — short for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics — learning center and studio; an innovation theater; and a digital exhibit gallery featuring 40-foot-tall projections, the first of its kind at a Florida science center and one of the few of its scale in the world.
Kurt Allen, the center's CEO and president, said the project is about more than larger exhibits and new technology. It's designed to prepare the next generation of students for careers in a region undergoing waves of economic change.
"The growth of Palm Beach County and the influx of the demographics from around the country that are relocating here really gives us an opportunity to expand the Cox Science Center from the community center we've grown up with to spread our wings into educating the young to expose them to up-and-coming potential careers,” Allen said.
Cox Science Center wants to build Palm Beach County's future workforce
The center's expansion comes as the county is booming. Local leaders have promoted West Palm Beach as "Wall Street South" as financial and technology firms move to establish a presence in the area.
Allen said the Cox Science Center intends to play a crucial role in building the workforce needed to support that growth.
"Especially with the businesses that are growing and moving here, the opportunities for the future are really endless,” Allen said. "And, that is what we want to expose the educational group to: 'Anything is possible, and it can be done right here in your own backyard.' "
The center is investing on technology that brings subjects such as biology, chemistry and physics to life in a way that traditional classrooms can't, Allen said.
"The Cox Science Center is a world of wonderment,” Allen said, "When kids come in and are actually able to play, experiment and have hands-on experiences, we are creating an educational building block for their future.”
For Allen, that mission is personal.
After graduating from Purdue University with a hospitality degree, he ran a business swimming with dolphins in Hawaii that sparked in him a fascination for marine life and later took him to serve as the vice president of Marineland Dolphin Adventure in St. Augustine.
Now he is hoping to multiply those moments for the children and teens who visit the center with the new tech and career-focused exhibits.
"When you see the wonderment on children's faces and in their eyes when they are doing something at the center and all of a sudden, something that they saw, touched or did at our center becomes reality in their future,” Allen said.
"For instance, they become electrical engineers because of a Tesla coil they saw in our center," Allen added. "Or some little thing ... connects with them and takes them on a path. It will be exciting for us to say 'Man, we were a part of that 10 years ago, and it changed the course of someone's lives.' "
What will the expanded Cox Science Center feature?
The $150 million project marks the largest expansion of the Cox Science Center since it opened in 1961.
The expansion will nearly double the center's footprint to 11 acres from 6.5. It is expected to double its number of yearly visitors to 1 million and allow it to educate up to 350,000 students, 70% more than it can now.
At the heart of the project is a 86,000-square-foot, two-level, four-story building that will be home to the Hall of Science Pavilion. It will give the center a prominent landmark visible from Interstate 95.
The revamped campus will feature a new entrance with a double-helix design symbolizing the intersection of art and science. Rosie Rex, the center's iconic pink Tyrannosaurus rex, will greet visitors along the park's entrance.
The new Hall of Science Pavilion will include:
- The Kenneth C. Griffin Aquarium: It will be expanded to 160,000 gallons and to feature 18 fresh and salt water tanks. Its galleries will take visitors through environments showcasing the Everglades, a coral reef, Florida in-land river animals and deep-water sharks. The floor-to-ceiling water habitats will be home to alligators, jelly fish and sharks.
- Digital Exhibit Gallery: A 6,000-square-feet floor-to ceiling interactive media system will be capable of creating 40-foot-tall projections. Visitors will use touch screens and motion sensors to interact with simulators showcasing experiences as varied as rocket launchings and a tour of King Tut's tomb.
- Schwab Family Next Generation STEAM Learning Center: An education hub that will feature four immersive classrooms wired for digital simulations and a laboratory for biotechnology, genetics and marine biology tied to the aquarium.
- The John Paulson and Alina de Almeida STEAM Studio: A 5,000-square-foot studio that will bring 50 interactive exhibits for children ages 10 and under. It will focus on forces and motion, electricity and magnetism, light and color, matter, energy and math.
- Digital Arts Studio: A career-focused tech incubator that will feature virtual-reality and augmented-reality architecture, artificial intelligence and data analysis, advanced coding and software development, and digital content creation and media production.
- Innovation Theater: A theater that will feature a stage equipped for chemistry trials, physics stunts and mechanical breakdowns. It will host live demonstrations and guest speakers and programs focused in science, technology and innovation.
- Oh Family Lobby: The lobby will feature Harbor Branch's historic "Clelia" submersible, a real-word research submarine and aerospace artifacts from the engineering company Pratt & Whitney.
- LEGO League: A wing dedicated to the center's LEGO League that will host regional robotics competitions.
The project will also triple the museum's parking capacity to more than 280 parking spaces, from 93.
The center is also investing $20 million on upgrades to Dreher Park. Plans call for a tree-lined public promenade, additional seating and the removal of fences to connect the center with the surrounding park.
The MAD scientists and other Cox Science Center children's programs
This year, the Cox Science Center celebrated the 15th annual Making A Difference Scientist Awards, which showcased the research projects of 58 middle and high school students from Palm Beach and Martin counties.
These MAD scientists began their projects in school and developed them into research and experiments that won in regional science and engineering competitions. Their work tackled issues ranging from Florida agriculture to water conservation.
Francesca Rodriguez, a Royal Palm Beach resident, was named the MAD Scientist of the Year for her environmental science project that engineered specialized eco-beads capable of filtering dangerous heavy metals from water while slowly releasing nutrients into agricultural soil.
"It's mind-blowing to see the way they think about the future and how they are trying to solve very complex world problems and coming up with solutions," Allen said. "And it's it is really, really neat to see how that is happening at a younger and younger age."
Other programs available for children and teens at the COX Science Center include:
- Mark Cuban Free AI Bootcamp: A free, three-day bootcamp course for high school students that includes an introduction to AI and emerging technologies, mentoring by community professionals and exploring entrepreneurship and career options. The centers offers it through a partnership with The Mark Cuban Foundation, and it is taught at Palm Beach State College.
- GEMS — Girls Excelling in Math and Science: A monthly afterschool program for girls in grades 3 through 8 meant to explore STEM fields.
- Science camps: The center offers one- and four-day camps for ages 5 through 13 that include from a safari exploration, an undercover detective mission, a tech camp and making video games.
- Discovery Tales: A story-time and learning program for children in preschool through elementary school with science-theme book readings and hands-on STEM activities.
- Sensory Saturdays: An early-morning access designed for visitors with autism spectrum disorder or cognitive challenges. It is held from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month.
Exhibits open at the Cox Science Center
Below is a list of exhibits open at the Cox Science Center:
- Cats & Dogs: Opening Oct. 10, this immersive, large-scale traveling exhibition lets visitors experience the world through the eyes, ears and noses of their pet companions.
- Giants of the Ice Age: An outdoor interactive exhibition that features life-size prehistoric animals, including mammoths, saber-toothed cats and cave lions. The exhibition is open until April 2027.
- Observatory: This observatory features a F/11 refractor telescope that allows visitors to view objects in space not visible to the naked eye.
- Flight Deck: A flight simulator that puts visitors in the pilot seat of a fighter jet. The interactive experience includes a 180-degree wraparound screen and realistic controls that allow participants to perform aerial maneuvers.
- Aquariums of the Atlantic: The 10,000-gallon aquarium is home to string rays, spadefish, seahorses with habitats representing the Florida Everglades, coral reefs, the Gulf Stream and the open ocean.
- Florida Conservation Station: A learning laboratory gives visitors an up-close look at Florida wildlife and the complex relationship among species.
- The Hidden World of the Everglades: An interactive exhibit that immerses guests in the Florida Everglades to learn of its indigenous and invasive species.
- The Conservation Course: An 18-hole miniature golf course designed by pro golfers Jim Fazio and Gary Nicklaus.
- Engineers on a Roll: An engineering lab, playscape and climbing area for children to explore engineering principals with an interactive display of brightly colored balls.
- Meteorology and Weather Service Station: Created in partnership with the WPBF-25 First Warning Weather team, the exhibit teaches visitors about weather, meteorological instruments and how to create a seven-day forecast.
- Fisher Family Science Trail: This quarter-mile trail connects a Florida Power & Light SolarScape, a splash pan and a gem-mining station where visitors can search for treasure.
- Anatomage Table: A hands-on exhibit that allows visitors explore the human body using cadaveric imaging technology to create 3D anatomical representations.
- Topobox: An interactive, augmented reality sandbox system that teaches concepts in topography, geography and natural sciences.
Valentina Palm covers immigration and breaking news for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How $150M Cox Science Center renovation may inspire our next workforce
