Museum Backers Seek Aid

Plans for a $70-million, hands-on science center in Thousand Oaks were presented to leading members of the area’s technology community this week in an effort to garner both moral and financial support.

Backers of the center said that within a month they expect a major financial commitment from at least one corporate donor and hope for more in the next year.

“Our first milestone is $40 million,” said Rebecca Rutledge, development consultant for the proposed Ventura County Discovery Center. “We won’t put a shovel in the ground until we get at least $40 million.”

The Discovery Center is planned as a 110,000-square-foot interactive museum of science and technology on 21 acres near the Civic Arts Plaza.

During a presentation Wednesday evening at Rockwell Scientific in Thousand Oaks, Kathleen Wiltsey, president of the center’s board of directors, told the audience the time was right to create a world-class science center in the heart of the Ventura Freeway technology corridor. Wiltsey said the corridor, stretching from Ventura to Glendale, is one of the top technology regions in the nation and the perfect spot for a museum.

She also said the U.S. was short 700,000 scientists and engineers and needed to jump-start interest among children in scientific careers.

“I’m concerned as an engineer and mother of two daughters. I want our kids to do better,” Wiltsey said. “These centers take the fear out of science.”

The facility would be divided into areas for science and the environment; health and biotechnology; and technology in society. There would be national touring exhibitions, an outdoor discovery park, a farm and an IMAX theater.

The Discovery Center has been selected as the official exhibitor of the California NanoSystems Institute, a research and development project coordinated by UCLA and UC Santa Barbara.

So far, the museum has commitments for about $9 million from businesses, the city, state grants and private pledges. Its board of directors includes scientists, businessmen, local members of Congress and Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury. Wiltsey, a former vice president of Amgen Inc., the Thousand Oaks-based biotechnology giant, is also assembling a panel of scientists and educators to help determine what local residents want in a museum.

The center is scheduled to open in about seven years.

A key element in the progress is securing funds. Rutledge said there are still opportunities for donors to get their names on parts of the center.

“We think we will have an exciting announcement to make in the next month,” Rutledge said, declining to identify the potential donor until the gift is made.

The center has already attracted the attention of some major businesses.

“We are very interested in the Discovery Center and think it could be a valuable asset to Ventura County and is in keeping with Boeing’s commitment to science and technology,” said Dan Beck, spokesman for Rocketdyne, the Boeing Co. division that operates the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley, where rockets have been tested for nearly 50 years. “We have a vested interest in getting more people interested in science and technology. We tend to support those things. We are awaiting a proposal from them.”

Boeing already provided $10,000 to help the Discovery Center create its brochures.

Other companies such as Rockwell Scientific, Amgen, NetZero and AT&T; Wireless have also supported the museum’s early efforts.

Derek Cheung, president and chief executive officer of Rockwell Scientific, said his company has given about $20,000 and provided experts and facilities for the proposed center.

“It would really add a lot to the status of the community,” he said. “It is a formidable task. We are an independent, medium-sized company and from a financial point of view are limited in what we can do.”

Rockwell Scientific, formerly known as Rockwell Science Center, became an independent company last month. It makes optical devices, wireless technology, software packages and does research and development for the federal government.

After her presentation, Wiltsey said she hoped the message had sunk in.

“We want to convince people that this is a great idea and it can be done in a world-class way,” she said. “And that it should be done.”