GREENSBORO, NC- More animals and more...dinosaurs? Big things are coming to the Greensboro Science Center. The CEO, Glenn Dobrogosz announced the center will double the size of its zoo, while adding more exhibits by 2020. The expansion will cost $10-million dollars. The center's already raised $9 million.
The new exhibit will be called Revolution Ridge- because the center is on sacred land- and they want give you a revolutionary experience at the zoo.
This means even more exotic creatures. A new map shows the growth of the center from 10 to 12 acres, with spaces for a new water garden, a greenhouse and a vet hospital.
But it'll also have space for new creatures like the pygmy hippo.
"It's a hippo that stands only about three feet tall and it's kind of the smaller cousin but also naturally endangered, " said Dobrogosz.
The center will add a Cassowary Cave.
"It's one of my favorites," said Dobrogosz. "It looks like a modern day velociraptor."
And then there's a spot for the Okapi Forest.
Dobrogosz explained, "People never heard of okapi. It's actually a forest giraffe from the Congo only found by scientists about 130 years ago but it's a little giraffe that has a front body of kind of a horse but the back looks like a zebra."
The animal add-on's don't stop there. The center is also bringing some back from extinction (not really) by expanding it's dinosaur park. This expansion- means more jobs and more economic growth.
"When I got here 12 years ago, we had about 20 full time employees, now we're reaching 60 with over 100 volunteers and part-time people," said Dobrogosz. "We've got from a $1.6 million budget impacting the community to a $6.4 million budget and an economic impact of about $25 million dollars a year."
This also means more people staring in wonder.
"We're drawing, started at 125,000 people a year to 450,000 people a year. That's a lot of new people from outside of Guilford County into our community to spend their hard earned money here."
Currently, the center is expanding the aquarium right now and the indoor dinosaur expansion will open later in 2017. The center also recently unveiled a new donor wall.Each person who donates money will have their name forever memorialized inside this blue wall for all at the Science Center to see.