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Virginia Leaders Form Founding Foundation Board for Planned SciencePort Science Center in Northern Virginia

RICHMOND — Eleven leaders from government, education and industry have agreed to serve on the founding SciencePort Science Center Foundation Inc. board of directors. The 170,000 square foot Science Center is to be built on five acres in SciencePort Town Center in Woodbridge. “Much needs to be done to get the new center up and running,” says Science Museum of Virginia Deputy Director Jack Parry, who is overseeing the project. “This board is crucial to bringing a hands-on science education center to the area. Its work includes raising $80-100 million to finance construction, fund programs, build research laboratories and classrooms for George Mason University and establish an endowment fund.” The board’s first meeting is in the Old Manassas Courthouse, 9248 Lee Avenue, Manassas, on Monday, Sept. 29, at 4 p.m.

Board members include: 

Micron Technology General Manager Richard Belden 

SciencePort Town Center developer Preston Caruthers

Troutman Sanders LLP attorney David S. Cohn

Prince William County Supervisors Chairman Sean T. Connaughton

American Type Culture Collection President and CEO Dr. Ray Cypess

McGuire Woods LLP partner and former Virginia Secretary of Education James W. Dyke Jr.

Dominion Virginia Power External Affairs Manager Deborah Tompkins Johnson

Prince William County School Superintendent Dr. Edward L. Kelly George Mason University President Dr. Alan G. Merten 

Retired IBM executive Robert O. Satterfield 

Northern Virginia Community College President Dr. Robert G. Templin Jr. 

Their first meeting includes electing board officers and an orientation conducted by Science Museum of Virginia Director Dr. Walter R.T. Witschey and Parry.

The planned SciencePort Science Center is a division of the Science Museum of Virginia. The center will include exhibition galleries, school programs, continuing educational programs for adults and learning resources. The center will focus on technology, physical sciences and life sciences. Both informal and formal programs for school-aged children will be aligned with Virginia’s Standards of Learning.

George Mason University is establishing a presence in eastern Prince William County. Research laboratories and classrooms will also be located within the Science Center.

The Science Center has a riverside location. It is where the Occoquan and Potomac rivers meet, and is adjacent to the new Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. You’ll be able to visit a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gallery to discover why the refuge is important and to learn about regional ecosystem environments.

Virginia voters have already approved $5 million for construction. An additional $589,000 has been awarded by the federal government. Land for the center has been offered by SciencePort developer Caruthers. Current plans call for the facility to be up and running in late 2007.

The Science Center will be close to Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1 and Virginia Route 123. It is also close to the Woodbridge train station. The site is one mile  north of Potomac Mills and 22 miles south of the Washington Monument.

***SMV***

9/24/03  

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