History
Immediately upon founding in 2001 as the Connecticut Center for Science & Exploration, a core team of supporters embarked on an extensive planning process to create a new educational destination at Hartford’s Adriaen’s Landing economic development initiative.
In December 2003, a Board of Trustees was established, staff hired and significant state funding was authorized to formally begin the work of building the Connecticut Science Center. Fundraising began in 2003 and a master plan was adopted in 2004. The massive construction project began in January 2006 and was completed in June 2009, when it opened to the public. Thanks to hundreds of supporters, the Science Center successfully completed a $165 million capital campaign, with an unprecedented private commitment of over $40 million.
The Connecticut Science Center represents a bold new step to help reassert Connecticut’s role as a leader in research, discovery and invention. With the urgency of international competition for science and technology talent, as well as the imminent demand for Connecticut’s schools to meet new science education standards, the Connecticut Science Center is a vital new resource at a critical time.