The ongoing effort to turn a large swath of downtown Miami�s bayfront into a center of science, art and learning has taken another important step. Knight Foundation announced a $10 million challenge grant to the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. To be paid, the funds must be matched by an additional $20 million in funding. The pledge comes as the science museum, currently located in Coconut Grove, is poised to break ground next month on its new home in downtown�s Museum Park along Biscayne Bay. The Frost will rise alongside the under-construction Jorge M. Perez Art Museum and sit a block from the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, two institutions that each received $10 million in Knight support.
The two museums and performance center - coupled with the sprawling public park, Museum Park - are set to become a vital, central destination on Miami�s cultural map. So too, the three institutions and public park will serve as a primary anchor in the ongoing revitalization of Miami�s urban core. It represents a big turn for an area that has long languished. I remember a decade ago, when I was in Miami for the first time, staying at a downtown hotel, and went for a morning jog through the city. I stumbled upon the 30-acre parcel on the bay; ratty and disheveled � and largely unused. But this $10 million challenge grant seeks to do much more than aide in reviving a barren stretch. It seeks to be a trigger for increased learning and public engagement with the sciences. With the foundation's support, a new, high-tech learning center � to be called the Knight Learning Center � will be built to include classrooms and laboratories. It will be used for schools, professional development and workshops. 07 more images after the break...
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