Northern Virginia Science Center Lands Major Financial Gift

STERLING, VA — The developers of a new regional science center in Northern Virginia are nearing the design phase for the center after receiving a $10 million gift from Northwest Federal Credit Union. The project will have a total budget of $75 million, with other major funding coming from the commonwealth of Virginia and Loudoun County.

With 85 percent of the funds already raised, the project's organizers – the Children's Science Center and the Science Museum of Virginia — said they hope to finish raising the remaining funds in the next 12 months. As a result of its $10 million contribution, Herndon-based Northwest Federal Credit Union will be the lead building naming sponsor of the center. The center is expected to receive a $31 million contribution from Virginia and $15 million from Loudoun County.

The Washington, D.C region is "home to some of the world's best museums, but no science center," Science Museum of Virginia Chief Wonder Officer Richard Conti said in a Dec. 4 statement. "Northern Virginia's science center will be a first of its kind for the region, serving as a bridge to STEM accessibility and encouraging guests to look at the world through the lens of science," he said.

The center will be built on a 70,000-square-foot piece of donated land at the Kincora mixed-use development in Sterling, near the Route 28 and Route 7 interchange. Officials expect the center will draw more than 300,000 visitors a year.

The exact date and project timeline for construction, including the initial groundbreaking as well as the eventual grand opening, have yet to be set, a project spokesman said. However, with the $10 million contribution from Northwest Federal Credit Union, the developers will immediately begin work on the design for both the physical building and the exhibits within the center's permanent collection and interactive space. They will also work on determining what will ultimately become the name of the science center.

The new center will serve as an expansion of the Children's Science Center's, which receives 70,000 visitors a year at its location at the Fair Oaks Mall and through outreach programs at schools. It also will be part of a network of science centers in Virginia, including museums in Richmond and Danville, which serve a combined 450,000 visitors each year. The Children’s Science Center at Fair Oaks Mall celebrated its four-year anniversary in June by showcasing a couple of new exhibits.