COG Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

The footprint design of the Tanger Center has been coordinated with the new LeBauer Park, a $10 million privately built facility that was gifted to the City and opened in August 2016. The park site is in proximity to STPAC and features the largest outdoor art sculpture in the Southeast, funded by a $1 million dollar grant and designed by internationally recognized artist, Janet Echelman. The park includes a 17,000 square-foot event lawn space with its aerial sculpture, a children’s garden with reading materials from a book cart, an interactive water feature that will serve as an ice skating rink in the winter, and a dog park equipped with specially engineered turf and anti-microbial backing. The garden pavilion can accommodate concerts and other events with a nearby putting green where visitors can practice their golf skills. This entire project is considered by many to be a key component to vibrancy of the arts community as a whole in the City. The Greensboro Science Center , a three-in-one science destination that includes an aquarium, zoo, and science museum, has seen record attendance numbers in the past three years, jumping from an average of 200,000 to over 400,000 annually with an estimated $25 million economic impact on the community. The Center is on course to realize its original core vision, in part through their “Think BIG Together!” campaign which raised $10 million in private donations to supplement remaining funds from the previously approved $20 million bond referendum. This will help the Center to complete a major expansion named Revolution Ridge: Life on the Edge. In addition to various improvements made over the past few years, the expansion will double the size of the zoo and add an animal health center, an endangered cat complex, an Okapi giraffe forest, an aquatic water garden, a greenhouse, a carousel and a large multi-use educational amphitheater. The amphitheater will overlook the Battleground Parks District - a proposed plan to connect attractions throughout 400 acres in the heart of Greensboro, including the Science Center, the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Country Park, and Forest Lawn Cemetery. The zoo expansion is expected to be completed by 2020. The 22,000 square foot Carolina SciQuarium houses a 119,500 gallon aquarium, North Carolina’s only centrally located “inland” aquarium. The SciQuarium opened in June 2013 and offers a complete immersion experience, with over 300,000 in attendance during the first year of operation. Since 2014, the SciQuarium has expanded, allowing for at least 40-50 new species and a focus on ocean conservation. In addition, behind-the- scenes tours and educational SciPods focus on the science of animal care. Also located at the site will be an

art gallery, classrooms, and renovations to the museum including “ HealthQues t”, a human health and biology wing. SKYWILD , an aerial attraction of ropes, platforms, and zip lines opened in 2015. The aerial obstacle course is designed for education, family entertainment, physical fitness, team- building, leadership training, and pure thrill-seeking. Also opened in 2015 is SciPlayBay , a sea focused adventure for children age seven and under, providing a hands-on interaction and educational experience. Another exhibit that was rolled out in 2017 is Prehistoric Passages , a new $2 million interactive dinosaur display and theater with holograms projecting a prehistoric petting zoo and

fossils that tell a story. Another project underway is the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Center. The STEM Center will provide classrooms and space for the innovative robotics classes currently offered to children, science cafés for adults, and other related educational exercises. Classrooms will be equipped with screens and projectors to provide an immersive learning experience. In April 2014, the Center earned the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accreditation, an award that only 223 of the more than 2,000 qualified national facilities receive. The Greensboro Science Center is the only facility in the state to offer an accredited science museum, zoological park, OmniSphere Theater and aquarium in a single destination. It is ranked number three in North Carolina as the top field trip attraction, receiving students, visitors and educators from throughout the state.

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