Cox Science Center and Aquarium

The Cox Science Center and Aquarium’s management philosophy centers on the following four goals:
• Community Ownership and Engagement: We will be recognized as a community-based,
community relevant and community centered organization operating at all times as an
essential part of our region.
• Organizational Stability: We will operate within a balanced budget, maintain an operational
reserve and have the resources to add, renew or upgrade exhibits, programs and facilities.
• Proactive Partnerships: We will aggressively look for opportunities to open all minds to
science in school classrooms, neighborhood festivals, and co-sponsored events at the Center.
• Excellence in the Guest Experience: We will create an environment where novelty and fun are
choreographed into learning experiences that invite experimentation, exploration and
learning.

Cox Science Center and Aquarium's mission is to open every mind to science. We accomplish our work by embracing the following strategies:
• Creativity: We rethink relationships between traditional, existing and new science principles
and combine them in innovative ways to help those we serve learn and discover
interrelationships in our world.
• Excellence: We understand that the work we do to open minds to science is a journey of
continuous improvement defined not by us but by those to whom we provide services.
• Integrity: Our decisions are ethical, honest and in the best interests of the Center, our visitors
and each other. We aim to do what is right, purposeful, relevant and meaningful.
• Partnerships: We accomplish more by working with like-minded organizations with goals and
aspirations similar to ours. We achieve our objectives both inside and outside of the Center
and we focus on providing 21st century learning skills.
• Interactivity: We offer moments of discovery through hands-on informal education
experiences. We engage our guests, students, trustees, volunteers and staff in programs that
are participatory and active.

Over the past ten years, attendance to the Science Center has grown at an annual compound rate of 14.9%, and revenues have grown at an annual compound rate of 13.3%, a true testament to the need that exists within
our community for quality informal science education. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, more than $24 million was raised during this period to support the Science Center’s operating and capital needs. This allowed the organization to generate a cumulative operating surplus of more than $11 million over the past decade, and to invest this entire amount and more than $13 million in total – into new facilities and programs.
New permanent exhibitions, enhanced visitor amenities and attractions, and blockbuster traveling exhibitions have all contributed to our stellar visitor ratings and reviews. The organization's large percentage of repeat visitors and high member retention rates are strong indicators of high levels of guest satisfaction.
Cox Science Center and Aquarium has received local and national recognition for its educational, programmatic
and business accomplishments. Local recognition includes being selected as the Best Museum in Palm Beach County by South Florida Parenting Magazine, receiving the Business Partner Gold Medal Award from the School District of Palm Beach County, and the Commissioner’s Business Recognition Award from the Florida
Department of Education.
National recognition includes being awarded a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for 8 consecutive years and being chosen as having one of the top 13 miniature golf courses in the United States by the Travel Channel.

Within its 60 years, Cox Science Center and Aquarium has undergone a dramatic transformation to become the anchor institution for STEM learning for the more than 2.5 million people living in the Greater Palm Beaches region. A strategic series of investments and improvements that have been made serve as a critical “proof of concept” effort demonstrating the overwhelming interest in and need for informal STEM learning throughout the community. Cox Science Center and Aquarium now attracts more visitors than ever from throughout the region as well as tourists visiting South Florida from around the world. Cox Science Center now ranks among the most densely attended science centers in the United States in terms of the number of visitors served on-site for each square foot of available space.
What's Next - Expansion Set to Debut in 2025
Leadership for the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium announced impressive expansion plans together with a name change, thanks to a record donation from Palm Beach residents Howard and Wendy Cox. Their $20 million lead gift launches a capital campaign to take the new Cox Science Center and Aquarium into the future with plans for an additional 130,000 total square feet of space for programming including science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) awareness and education. The Coxs’ gift is the largest single gift in the Center’s 60-year history and serves as the keystone for a $45 million expansion campaign.
Expansion plans include renovated spaces, a new three-story science pavilion visible from I-95, new outdoor exhibition spaces and one of Florida’s largest indoor aquariums. The new Cox Science Center is on track to serve more than 600,000 visitors and program participants annually, including thousands more through virtual programming, inspiring and educating them and advancing the local economy.
● The capital campaign will encompass 11 acres, an addition of just over 4 acres to the existing campus.
● The expansion will host one of the largest indoor/outdoor aquariums in Florida amassing 57,000-square-feet, and will take visitors through the Everglades, Florida’s inland rivers and Gulf Stream waters, including the latest coral research and education programs in partnership with The Reef Institute.
● A Digital Arts Studio will advance the local workforce by training residents and local high school students with skillsets that align with high demand jobs in the region.
● Advanced educational experiences will offer a STEAM Studio, featuring popular interactive exhibits, an indoor/outdoor exhibit area designed for early learners, classic programming in the Planetarium and Observatory, a cutting-edge robotics lab and will serve as home base for FIRST LEGO League Teams and competitions.
● The Next-Generation STEM Learning Center will include specially equipped lab spaces that elevate STEM education and tech training programs for 100,000 Palm Beach County children - 70 percent of whom attend Title I schools.