St. Pete Science Center

St. Pete Science Center The reimagined St. Petersburg Science Center stands poised to redefine innovation, education and community engagement in the Tampa Bay region.

Grounds cleanup day at the St. Pete Science Center. Our partners at Pathfinders and Water Warrior Alliance showed up and...
04/15/2026

Grounds cleanup day at the St. Pete Science Center. Our partners at Pathfinders and Water Warrior Alliance showed up and put in real work today preparing the site for what is ahead. Grateful for the people who show up before the big moments.

A huge THANK YOU to for donating our dumpster today!

Byrne Ocean Conservation / Water Warrior Alliance
Pathfinder Outdoor Education

Time changes everything.After more than five decades of service, the Science Center closed in 2019. The building aged. F...
02/15/2026

Time changes everything.

After more than five decades of service, the Science Center closed in 2019. The building aged. Funding ran out. The walls that once held periodic tables and student projects went quiet.

But the mission never disappeared.

Next week, we’ll share what comes next—and how the Science Center can once again belong to the next generation of curious minds.

🔬 The story continues.

https://givebutter.com/QsY6bC

We’re doing a little digging 🔎Long before social media throwbacks were a thing, thousands of St. Pete kids were mixing c...
02/12/2026

We’re doing a little digging 🔎

Long before social media throwbacks were a thing, thousands of St. Pete kids were mixing chemicals, dissecting owl pellets, building radios, launching rockets and probably getting in a little (supervised) trouble at the St. Pete Science Center.

Were you one of them?

Did you go to camp? Win a science fair? Meet a mentor? Decide you were “a science kid” from that moment on?

We’re collecting real stories from the people who were there.

http://sciencecenter.ai/mystory

On March 5, 1966, the St. Petersburg Science Center officially opened its doors on 22nd Avenue N.The new facility had: 🔬...
02/12/2026

On March 5, 1966, the St. Petersburg Science Center officially opened its doors on 22nd Avenue N.

The new facility had:

🔬 Six laboratories

📚 A library

🎭 A theater

🔭 An observatory

🌱 A science garden

It was fully air-conditioned (a big deal in 1966) and built to serve twice as many students as before.

“We’ve come a long way from Uncle Bill’s garage,” director Nell Croley said that day. “I think we’ve made it.”

https://givebutter.com/QsY6bC

By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the St. Petersburg Science Center was making national headlines.📖 Parents Magazine📖 R...
02/09/2026

By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the St. Petersburg Science Center was making national headlines.

📖 Parents Magazine
📖 Reader’s Digest
📖 Life Magazine

They called Uncle Bill “The Pied Piper of Science.”

When asked why he succeeded, his answer was simple:
“I don’t know very much. But I can think like a boy.”

https://givebutter.com/QsY6bC

In 1954, St. Petersburg hosted its first-ever Science Fair.It was organized by Uncle Bill Guild and the growing Science ...
02/05/2026

In 1954, St. Petersburg hosted its first-ever Science Fair.

It was organized by Uncle Bill Guild and the growing Science Club—and it changed everything.

Soon, kids weren’t just learning science. They were doing it.
Experimenting. Building. Asking “why?”

The county science fair grew so large it had to be moved to a roller rink.

St. Pete was becoming a science city.

https://givebutter.com/QsY6bC

“Science is Fun. See it. Touch it. Do it yourself.”That wasn’t marketing—it was a mission.By the mid-1950s, the Science ...
02/02/2026

“Science is Fun. See it. Touch it. Do it yourself.”

That wasn’t marketing—it was a mission.

By the mid-1950s, the Science Center was serving students from nearly every Pinellas County school. There were no grades. No tests. Just retired science teachers, real experiments, and kids discovering that learning could be joyful.

Field trips. Weekend classes. Summer camps.

For generations of St. Pete kids, this was the first place science came alive.

https://givebutter.com/QsY6bC

Before there was a Science Center, there was “Uncle Bill.”In the early 1950s, William Guild—a retired newspaperman and a...
01/29/2026

Before there was a Science Center, there was “Uncle Bill.”

In the early 1950s, William Guild—a retired newspaperman and amateur naturalist—turned his small apartment near Mirror Lake into a hub for curious kids asking big questions about turtles, rocks, snakes, and stars.

Guild never finished college. But he believed something radical for the time:
🧠 Science should be hands-on.
👐 Kids should touch it.
🚀 Learning should be exciting.

The children had a name for him: Uncle Bill.

And St. Petersburg would never be the same.

https://givebutter.com/QsY6bC

01/28/2026

Big moments like this don’t happen overnight. 🧪✨

We’re proud to reshare this reel from the City of St. Pete celebrating the groundbreaking of the St. Petersburg Science Center—a beloved landmark stepping into a bold new chapter.

From hands-on learning to future-focused STEAM innovation, this project is about inspiring curiosity, creativity, and opportunity for generations to come. Follow along as we bring this vision to life.

The test tubes are gone.The Bunsen burners are cold.The aquariums, rock specimens, and copper coils are long gone too.Fo...
01/26/2026

The test tubes are gone.
The Bunsen burners are cold.
The aquariums, rock specimens, and copper coils are long gone too.

For the first time in nearly 60 years, the St. Petersburg Science Center sits quiet—its doors closed since 2019.

But this building at 7701 22nd Ave. N. once sparked curiosity in hundreds of thousands of children. And its story is far from over.

We’re sharing the history of the Science Center—not to look backward, but to remind St. Pete what’s possible when a community believes in science, curiosity, and kids.

Support the future of Science but donating today! No amount is too small!

https://givebutter.com/QsY6bC

Address

7701 22nd Avenue N
Saint Petersburg, FL
33710

Telephone

+17273468005

Website

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