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New Science Museum On South Coast On Track For Opening

Crews work on MOXI, Santa Barbara's new science museum which is set for completion this year

It’s a dream that’s been more than a quarter of a century in the making.

Construction is expected to wrap up this summer on a 25,000 square foot science museum on the South Coast. MOXI is designed to appeal to kids and adults, and is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors annually.

MOXI’s full name is MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation. It’s named after “Law and Order” TV Series creator Dick Wolf, and his wife Noelle, who were major benefactors for the project. The 25,000 square foot building includes more than 17,000 square feet of exhibit space:

The City of Santa Barbara stepped up with the land for the museum, offering a dollar a year, 50 year lease. The museum’s boosters need to raise $25 million dollars for building the complex, and creating an endowment. They are most of the way there, trying to close in on the final four million dollars.

The 15 month long construction project is on track for completion this summer, with the arrival and installation of the more than 70 exhibits this fall. The museum could host its first visitors around the beginning of the new year.

You can find out more on MOXI's website here.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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