ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014\u00a0For decades, the science center in St. Pete served as a staple for educating students in the Tampa Bay area. \u00a0<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
After years of debates and advocacy from local residents, on Friday shovels went in the ground for the reimagined\u00a0Science Center<\/a> When it closed years ago, there was debate about what to do with the iconic building and property. After years of debates and advocacy from local residents, on Friday shovels went in the ground for the reimagined Science Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Joe Hamilton is the founder of the reimagined Science Center. He showed a rendering of the big plans to renovate and rebuild the center, keeping the iconic round building on the property and the impactful education they\u2019re known for.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope to get real construction started around April, and we think it will take about 12 to 14, 15 months to complete the building,” Hamilton said. “So, summer camps 2027 may be a little ambitious, but that\u2019s our goal and hopefully by school year 2027.”<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re focusing on emerging technology basically because we think it\u2019s the most important need and the most important gap we have in education,” he said.<\/p>\n Jamie Hoke used to take her now-grown kids to the science center. So, a couple of years ago, when her son wanted to help advocate to revitalize the center, she stepped up, focusing on its past and promise for the future.<\/p>\n \u201cThis science center has done so much to take children, their dreams and making them come even bigger and better. So, I\u2019m super excited to see what it will do for the next generation, including my grandson, who\u2019s coming in March,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Sen. Darryl Rouson says he got on board to make this project happen from the very beginning.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited. I\u2019m excited that it\u2019s finally going to happen. It took seven years, five years, for us to get to this point,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Rouson and other lawmakers rallied to raise awareness and money to make the $22 million project happen.<\/p>\n
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Sen. Darryl\u00a0Rouson and other lawmakers rallied to raise awareness and money to make the $22 million project happen
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A groundbreaking was held Friday<\/p>\n