SANTA ANA : Science Center Site Reportedly Chosen
Officials at the Discovery Museum of Orange County, a hands-on historical facility, on Thursday reportedly selected a site on Main Street in downtown Santa Ana to build a long-planned science learning center.
The museum board agreed to locate the science center in the Bowers Museum District “next to the Bowers Museum, subject to working out terms of the agreement with the city of Santa Ana,” said a source who would not be named.
Santa Ana city officials could not be reached for comment.
The Bowers Museum District is a 90-acre area planned as a cultural and commercial development. It is bounded on the west by Main Street, on the south by 17th Street and on the northeast by the Santa Ana Freeway.
It reportedly was chosen as the science center site over a location in the Irvine Spectrum.
The 6-year-old Discovery Museum, located on 11 acres in Santa Ana, focuses on life in turn-of-the-century Orange County and provides educational programs for about 20,000 students annually. Its centerpiece is the furnished Kellogg mansion, a restored Victorian house.
Plans call for the museum to remain in operation. It is expected to serve 750,000 to 1 million visitors annually, museum officials have said.
The Discovery Museum was formed in 1984 as the result of a merger of the Exploratory Learning Center, a historic facility, and the Experience Center, which operated a hands-on science center.
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