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Union Station Announces Funding Boost for Science City

Kansas City, Mo. – Union Station today will announce a more than $1 million dollar grant from the Burns & McDonnell Foundation for long-awaited improvements at Science City.

This marks the largest investment in Science City since its opening in 1999. Burns & McDonnell Chairman, President and CEO Greg Graves says it's also the largest grant to date by the Kansas City-based engineering and architectural company's foundation.

"The future of Union Station looks pretty good right now, but the future of math and science with the children of Kansas City, I think most would agree is less certain. So to have a world class science center is the objective," says Graves. "So to help get that started, the Burns & McDonnell Foundation is making a million dollar plus gift in 2011 to bring several new ideas to Science City."

The grant will fund new science, technology, engineering or math exhibits at Science City, and redesign and expand the Burns & McDonnell Engineerium. It will also purchase an interactive 3-D exhibit called Science on a Sphere, and fund a contest for area schools to compete to design new exhibits.

Laura Spencer is staff writer/editor at the Kansas City Public Library and a former arts reporter at KCUR.
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