Impact

OUR 60-YEAR LEGACY OF IGNITING CURIOSITY

Pacific Science Center has significantly transformed throughout the last 60 years. PacSci has sparked curiosity in people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. From empowering girls and women to pursue careers in STEM, to providing STEM curricula to under-resourced communities, accessibility is at the heart of our work.

PacSci — and the world —has changed a lot in the last 60 years, and we plan to be here to inspire and support future generations of STEM professionals who will shape the next 60 years and beyond.

2022 Year in Review

Little boy excited about Tinker Tank Makerspace

We were thrilled to welcome the public back to Pacific Science Center this July for the first time since March 2020.

Watching children light up as they follow a butterfly, seeing families connect as they experiment in Tinker Tank Makerspace, shocking everyone during our Combustion Live Science Show—these are the sights and sounds we’ve missed over the last 2 years.

295K

Guests visited PacSci since we re-opened July 1


Curiosity 24/7/365

PacSci Educator Julia presenting a Live Science Show

When PacSci closed its doors, it kept curiosity open with new models to reach our community, including:

  • Curiosity at Home, our collection of free and fun digital learning resources—in both English and Spanish!
  • Virtual Field Trips, where PacSci delivers science education straight to the classroom
  • Camps for Curious Minds, offers students the opportunity to explore and experiment all summer long.

In Winter 2022, we brought back in-person programming to K-8 schools across Washington with Science on Wheels and School Break Camps!

496K+

Virtual visits to our digital collection of Curiosity at Home activities in 2021-2022

28K

Students reached via Virtual Field Trips in 2021-2022

58%

from Title 1 schools across Washington

My school is a Title I school. A lot of families are working full time and not in STEM jobs—a lot of farm workers and factory workers. Many families don’t have time to do science projects at home. The Virtual Field Trips were a great way for kids to experience it through their classroom. It also let them see a different side of jobs [in STEM careers] that they wouldn’t normally see. ADRIANA CHAVEZ, KENNEWICK SCHOOL DISTRICT, HAWTHORNE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SUMMER PRINCIPAL, STEM CURRICULUM SPECIALIST AT FUERZA ELEMENTARY

Camps for Curious Minds

Two boys at Camps for Curious Minds

Donor support made it possible for us to award 315 scholarships to campers so our next generation of engineers, epidemiologists and curious citizens can build interest and excitement for science regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

3695

Campers attended

286

Camp sessions in 2022

315

Scholarships to curious minds, 68% of whom identify as BIPOC


MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CHAIR

This summer, Pacific Science Center’s campus reverberated once again with the sounds of summer campers, multi-generational families, and people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds discovering a new experience or delighting in a renewed exhibit. It was an inspiring soundtrack after the involuntary quiet of the last two years.

Your collective generosity made it possible for PacSci to innovate amidst the pandemic—increasing access to science statewide and delivering meaningful and impactful informal science education to youth, our members, guests and community.

We challenged ourselves to provide programs—and impact—in new, more accessible ways, employing technology to bring experiential science education directly to communities across the state.

We strengthened our commitment to statewide access to STEM programs for students in under-resourced schools and young people underrepresented in STEM fields. With your help, we increased the number of summer camp scholarships to kids who may not otherwise have been able to attend PacSci camps.

Now, as we welcome visitors back to campus and look forward to our 60th anniversary celebration in October, we invite you to take a closer look at the positive impact of our programs and outreach over the last fiscal year.

PacSci has continued to evolve since its founding at the 1962 World’s Fair, and we have much to look forward to as we continue to boldly step into the future. Your gifts power PacSci to be our community’s laboratory – a place that inspires experimentation, discovery, and critical thinking in us all. I hope you will join us as we continue to grow and expand to serve our community. Thank you!

Will Daugherty
President & Chief
Executive Officer
Jason Barnwell
Chair, Board of Directors

Past Reports