A Good Day for Science in St. Louis -- Science Center, Danforth Center to Expand

By Chad Garrison Tue., Jul. 20 2010 at 10:51 AM

Categories: Science & Technology

danforthcenter.org

You may have already seen the news splashed across this morning's Post-Dispatch. The St. Louis Science Center will announce today that its moving ahead with a $9.5 million expansion to create a new exhibition hall.

But that wasn't the only science-related news leaked yesterday. As Daily RFT has learned, the Danforth Plant Science Center in Olivette is also set for expansion.

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a $4.6 million U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant for the expansion of the Danforth facility. The money will be used to build a new greenhouse and a pre-incubation feeder facility.

"Encouraging innovation and helping new technologies become marketable products is critical to creating jobs and improving our nation's economic competitiveness," says U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. "This project will support the plant and life sciences industry cluster that is emerging in the St. Louis region and lead to job creation by supporting advances in the plant and life sciences fields, and helping to move those new technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace."