Center Needs Another $2 Million to Add Cube

The Discovery Science Center is scrambling to raise an extra $2 million to build a controversial, 117-foot-high cube that supporters say will become an Orange County landmark.

The hollow black cube was originally planned for the center’s second phase, executive director Karen Johnson said.

Despite a handful of critics who say the cube is too tall, the Science Center leaders now see the structure as an integral part of the museum that should be built as soon as possible.

“You can’t promise something,” Johnson said of the cube, “and not deliver on it.”

Plans for the center and cube were recently approved by the Santa Ana City Council, and construction is expected to begin this summer. The center will be an interactive museum with a focus on teaching science to children.

In addition to marking the Science Center, the cube will have daily science demonstrations held inside of it. The center will be on North Main Street next to the Santa Ana Freeway.

Construction of the first phase of the center is expected to cost $17.8 million, not including the cube’s additional $2 million.

Johnson said the added cost of building the cube in the first phase will not delay the project. One of the financing options, she said, is to ask for a larger-than-expected construction loan.

But Johnson also said the private, nonprofit center hopes to raise enough money for the cube in the coming months.