The Science Center, established in 1963 and located adjacent to Azalea Middle School since 1966, was the premier site for science education for children on the Florida Gulf Coast for five decades. At its peak, about 22,000 children visited the Science Center each school year.Having fallen into disuse and disrepair in 2019, and at one time at risk of being destroyed to accommodate the expansion of a water treatment facility, the Science Center will now be reborn and reopened, as the hub for AI and emergent technology in our region.