Groundbreaking at the South Florida Science Museum in 1960

Before they dug up Suzie the mastodon’s bones, they broke ground for the Science Museum.

This 1960 photo shows (foreground, from left) Gary Myers (son of Wyckoff and Nancy Myers), and Ellen and Carolyn Downey (daughters of Dan and Doris Downey) digging for buried treasure.

As Nancy Myers explains: “I was president of the Junior Welfare League — which later was called the Junior League of the Palm Beaches — when we received our charter to establish ‘The Junior Museum’ in 1959. On Groundbreaking Day, we buried all kinds of small surprises over an acre of land on our property in Dreher Park in West Palm Beach. About 150 kids showed up carrying shovels, and we got lots of publicity. We eventually raised enough money to build the first section of the building, which opened in 1961. This was followed by the second section that housed the Spitz planetarium equipment. Many residents of Palm Beach County backed the project.”

This story and many others are included in the official Palm Beach County centennial book, Palm Beach County at 100. Order your copy now!

Tags: museums