Children play with a LEGO building outdoors while a woman observes.

Behind the Scenes

Categories: Campaign Update

Through our first ever capital campaign: Science For All we are updating our physical space, adding new engagement opportunities and ensuring we are able to serve all members of our community for years to come.  In the spring of 2025 SEE had the official public launch of this campaign.  But work started several years earlier.  We invite you to learn about the work that was happening behind the scenes.

2020

SEE staff gathered feedback from over 100 visitors, teachers, tech companies and partners to best understand which exhibits visitors wanted to see changed or upgraded and why. The SEE Science Center began working on the vision for the Millyard Design Zone in late fall 2020 when staff and stakeholders gathered to establish the goal, vision and look and feel for the gallery in consultation with Betsy Loring from expLoring exhibits and engagement. The process continued with brainstorming hands-on experiences that could meet this project’s goals.

Handwritten posters and poster boards with images standing up in front of the LEGO Millyard Project.
A woman with a clipboard observes children engaging in a tabletop exhibit.

2021

In a collaborative community process, SEE developed a five-year strategic plan. SEE staff then began working with partners and community members to create an exhibit content outline for the LEGO• Millyard project, worked on exhibit component ideas and identified overall project costs.  From summer 2021 through 2025, SEE tested exhibit prototypes at community events with focus groups and visitors. As each component was refined, SEE staff worked with Green Dot Design to create construction drawings for each custom exhibit kiosk.

2022

SEE staff and Board worked together to develop a long-term financial plan to determine how we could fund the projects as set out in our strategic plan. SEE staff also continued to work with community partners, SEE visitors and families at outreach events to test exhibit ideas. Accessibility improvements at the SEE Science Center began in September 2022 after completing an independent third-party Universal Design Audit of the existing facilities. The resulting recommendations allowed SEE to receive a grant from the federal agency Institute of Museum and Library Services to engage with local partners from the disability community to help refine accessibility and inclusion goal’s scope for the campaign. The grant also allowed the SEE to create standardized accessibility training for all staff.

Four girls use around a table do an activity with magnets.
A woman seated in a chair gives feedback to a woman holding a clipboard.

2023

Work began to select universal seating in 2023 when SEE engaged with the Moore Center to test options. The selected chairs for all classroom and gathering spaces arrived in April 2025 and were put into immediate use for field trip students and event attendees. All design work for the campaign projects are done with consideration to accessibility standards and recommendations.

2024

SEE started the “Quiet Phase” of the campaign, applying for grants, reaching out to foundations and talking with past supporters. By the end of 2024 we had made it to over 90% of our fundraising goal. Throughout the 2024–2025 school year, students increasingly benefited from the ongoing upgrades to the SEE chemistry lab, which include a new accessible sink and eyewash station, new cabinetry, tables and flooring and new chairs. In this space, students of all ages can embody what it is like to be a lab scientist.

A sink with four faucets is shown on the wall in the lab.

We invite you to become part of this initiative by donating to the Science For All Campaign. Campaign donations of $250 and up will receive an acknowledgement graphic brick around the LEGO® Millyard Model.