Hi, you're listening to Cultivate Curiosity, a.
Podcast that inspires the next generation to stay curious.
Cultivate Curiosity is brought to you by the Emerald Coast Science Center, a nonprofit.
Interactive science museum and STEAM educational facility in Fort Long Beach, Florida.
This podcast is perfect for anyone curious.
About the world we live in, because.
You never know what we'll talk about next.
Hey everyone, My name is Eileen and I am the social Media Coordinator at the Emerald Coast Science center and also your new host of Cultivate Curiosity. I'm excited to be here on my first episode with you and I am so glad that you guys are here. As we step into 2026, I think it's super important for us to take a step back and reflect not just on how far we've come here at the Science center, but on why we do what we do and what keeps us all going. For those of you who might not know us yet, the Emerald Coast Science center is a hands on Museum in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. We're home to 45 exhibits, a collection of live animals, and countless opportunities for families, students, students and visitors to explore how science can connect to your everyday lives. Our mission is simple but powerful. To inspire and cultivate curiosity. We want to bring STEM to everyone and show our community that you can be a scientist, you can be an engineer, and you can be a doctor. We do that through hands on learning, like our homeschool programs, our workshops, our interactive STEM exhibits, and community outreach that make science feel exciting, approachable, and fun for all ages. Over the years, the Science center has grown so much, from our staff and our exhibits to our education programs, our outreach efforts, and even our little family of animal ambassadors. Every year we reach more students, we connect with new schools and bring the joy of discovering to more families across our community. And even with all that growth and change, what hasn't changed is the why. The people here are passionate. They're creative and endlessly dedicated. Not just because it's easy, but because it matters. Now, anyone who's ever worked in a nonprofit knows that this kind of work takes a lot of heart, a lot of teamwork, and sometimes a ton of caffeine. There are long days, quick turnarounds, last minute changes, and a whole lot of problem solving. But we keep showing up because we love what we do. When I first started working here, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought I'd be teaching a few science lessons, maybe mixing up some slime and possibly chasing kiddos around. But what I didn't expect was how Deeply. This place would connect to my heart. The compassion here for each other, for our animals, and for our community is something special. Watching kids light up when they learn something new, seeing families come back again and again, and hearing people say, I didn't know science could be fun. I think that's true for all of us who work here. We wear a lot of hats, but we all share that same love for inspiring curiosity. So today I wanted to sit down with three people who really represent the heart of the Science Center.
Hi, my name is Diane Fraser, and I'm the director here at the Omico Science Center. And I'm basically the buck stops here person. So any decisions, any ideas that are floated out there, I don't have the total final decision because as a nonprofit, we are governed by a board of directors. So anything really, really big, we have to take to our board for permission. But the ideas that bubble up from the rest of my colleagues that work here, those are the ones that we can sit down and come together and make decisions right here, right now, type of things. I have a bachelor's in chemistry and a master's in forensic science. So I come at this from a scientist perspective. I teach a college class at the University of West Florida, so that kind of fills that niche. Being able to talk to a group of students about an area that I got my master's degree in and. And kind of keeps me current and relevant in that field as well as my day job being a director here.
Hello, I'm Harley. I am now the education coordinator and exhibit curator, because the person who's going to talk next is taking over the volunteer. Coordinating is all on her now. What do I do? And I'm in charge of. In charge of. I don't know, but I do kind of a little bit of everything here and there. Try to make the science center as welcoming and approachable and interactive as possible through either exhibits or programs is the main goal. So always trying to keep that in the back of mind when we're doing any sort of programs in any sort of exhibit curation. And a little bit about me, honestly, I like things to be really organized and have a hard time when things aren't organized to be creative.
So.
So if you're working with me, we're gonna be writing things down. We're gonna be recording everything that we have possibly been doing so that we can backtrack and so that we can continue to be creative and brainstorm really well together. My biggest passion and one of my favorite things to explore are insects and Bugs and dirt and all that grimy little stuff. So you'll see me writing all those bugs down, keeping them nice and organized and also exploring them a lot too.
Hi, my name is Maddie. I am currently the volunteer coordinator. Just took that over. And I'm also an educator here at the Science Center. I'm also like Carly. I'm really not in charge of much. Just volunteers and coordinating all that good stuff. Yeah, I do a lot of inspiring and positivity for kids of all ages. No matter what their background is, no matter what their interests are, I want to dive deep on it and just inspire them to go deep in whatever they want to do. A little bit about me, I'm a.
Dog mom to two.
I love the outdoors. I have a background in wildlife and biology, conservation, and yeah, awesome.
It is so nice to get the background of all of you guys. So Diane somehow manages to keep everything running and everyone inspired. Harley works super hard to make sure all of those exhibits and programs we were talking about running smoothly. And our educator, Maddie, and our new volunteer coordinator. She has been such a big part of growing our programs and bringing new energy into everything we do, especially this past year. So I just wanted this episode to kind of be a behind the scenes look at who we are, what we do, why we love it. So come along and join us while we sip our coffee and talk about all things Science Center. So, Diane, I'm going to start with you. You've been doing this for a long time and have helped shape the Science center into what it is today. Can you take us back for a second? What first drew you to this kind of work and what made it stick for you?
I sort of came at this from a article in Time magazine which had to have been in the 90s. And the COVID had a kid on it in a white laboratory coat and it said, are we teaching science the right way? And that really struck me. I still think I have a copy of that magazine. Because we have to teach science in a way that that allows kids the opportunity to continue to ask questions. And we have to be able to get dirty, we have to get messy. We have to allow those types of things to happen in order for real learning to happen. And we have to allow kids to fail. And I think that we get sometimes so caught up in, like, getting to the right answer right away. Well, we don't really learn anything when we do that. We have to make some mistakes and we have to rethink and recalibrate and be okay with not always, you know, getting the right answer right away. Because we learn so much more when that doesn't happen. Right? So it's the things that we don't do well that we have to, you know, reconsider. And that's problem solving. And I think that sometimes the way that we teach things, we don't incorporate that ability to be able to problem solve into it. So that was one of the things that kind of drew me to, okay, what can we do? So I started teaching science as like an extra thing at my kids elementary school. I was doing it anyway for their classes and the principal came to me and was like, hey, if we got some PTO money, would you be willing to do that for like the whole school? So it was so much freedom, which I think also translates into what we do here because we have a lot of ability to be creative. We have a lot, the ability to have a lot of freedom and a lot of latitude in how we write our programs and how we write our lessons because we're not tied to certain guidelines or rules that would be inside of a school district. So that gives us the opportunity to be the place where you can go have fun with it, that you can get messy with it. It's a lot of work on our ends because it does get really messy. Right. And you know, we have to be really creative in how we approach these concepts that need to be learned, but in a different way that makes them fun and sticky. Like, you're going to remember this because, oh yeah, my hands were in that, or, you know, I had to clean up this or I made that. So those are the things that create those memorable, lasting learning goals. So that's kind of what drew me to the work, I think, the ability to be a blank slate. You know, there wasn't any roadmap. It was just, you know, when we moved into this facility in 2014 and I came on board as the director was literally a blank slate. And that's really, really, like overwhelming.
Scary.
Yeah, it's incredibly scary. And it would have been great if it was a blank slate with a blank check. But that absolutely was not the case. And so there had to be a lot of like, okay, here's what I'd like to do. If you can give me X X amount of money or X amount of support, I will deliver this. So there was a lot of relationship building in like the first five years of showing the community that if we said we could do something, if they gave us something, we could do something with it. And then so once you have kind of established that it makes it easier for you to go out and get buy in, you know, moving forward. So that first five years was really crucial. I mean, we were dirt poor. I mean it was, it was really, really every, every day was like terrifying. And then we hit the five year mark here in 2019.
That's when I started.
Yes. When Harley started, world opened and then 2020.
Oh, it went down.
Yes, by the pandemic. Right. And so a lot of times if a small business can hit a five year mark, then you're like, okay, that's good, we've made it. Right. And then you had a global pandemic and so it's like starting all over again.
Right.
But I had a great team in place. We had a great team. We had a lot of really dedicated, creative people that were like, okay, we're not going to let this, you know, crush us. And it didn't. Because here we are six years after a global pandemic. So much growth has happened, so much expansion, so many new things and new people and new ideas.
It has been great. From your perspective, what makes the Science center itself feel special either to our visitors or to the people that work here?
A couple of things I think that, and I hope this is true and Harley and Maddie and even you, Eileen, can sort of tell me if it is true. But I feel like when we have new members join the Science center, they bring their passion with them. Like Harley just said, she loves bugs. So if you walk into this building and you go into the reptile room and there's all of these bugs pinned on the wall, that's Harley. There's a piece of Harley on the wall right there. If you look at our lessons, when Kiana worked with us, she was a marine biology major, so she brought a bunch of lessons and a bunch of ideas based on marine biology. Maddie comes at it from an environmental perspective, so she helps us to incorporate all of that. So every person that, I hope that every person that works here feels like they have this opportunity and this ability to reach down into what drives them and bring it out and showcase it here on, you know, in our programs, in our exhibits, in our community outreach. That ability to be able to tap into your creativity sometimes makes up for the really low pay, sometimes it doesn't. Right. But I think that sense of ownership and that ability to have an impact and to make a difference and to do the thing that brings you joy and drives you can be very powerful. Did I even answer that question? You did.
Okay. Yeah, you did. I think it's important for people to come in and to see all of the creativity and the culture behind all of the people that work here. So I think that's wonderful. One more thing I wanted to mention. You're pretty involved in our community beyond the Science Center.
What are a few of those roles.
That really matter to you and why? I know you can talk about this forever, so somebody just like give me.
The, like now by the side. Okay? So number one, I'm going to be 60 this year. So I feel like that's in the.
Community for 60 years.
But what I think is that when you, as you get older and some of those responsibilities, my children are grown, you know, some of those responsibilities fall away. You look around at your community and you say, okay, what really matters to me? What changes would I like to see in this community? What do I feel is important? So I'm really passionate about, obviously science education. I'm really passionate about women's issues. And so I now have the ability to be able to say things because I'm like now the grumpy old lady, right? But to be able to stand up in front of people because I don't have a job that I could lose, I don't have. I can see I have less time. So that makes me more energetic to do things that I hope will make my community a better place. And I still have the energy to be able to do those things.
And I think if you're a person.
And you're willing to, anytime you're willing to stick your neck out, there's always somebody that's willing to be right there to cut it off, right? I mean, that's just the way the way things are. But I also feel like if you're out in the community and you're doing the things and you're not getting a paycheck in return for them, that people will look at you and say, well, I can trust her. I can trust what she tries really hard to do, what she says she's going to do, she's not always successful at it because, I mean, sometimes it is overwhelming. But that somebody that's willing to put themselves out there and that's a hand raiser and says, okay, yeah, that does need to be done. Somebody should do that. Well, who's that somebody? Well, maybe I can play a small role in that being that somebody. And plus, it allows you to meet a lot of people in the community and it allows me to see ways that the Science center can plug in and fill gaps and be collaborative, which is one of the things that I think makes us pretty unique as well, because we try very hard to be collaborative with all the other nonprofits as well the community.
I go to some of these events with you, and people light up when they see Diane Fraser. So when things get busy and. Or overwhelming, which it happens quite often working here, what helps you to reset and to keep showing up every day?
Do you want to reset? Maybe not just no sleep. I think it's. I'm a worker bee, right. So that's just my nature. My nature is to have a lot of energy, to do a lot of things. My husband and I, we don't sit still. We don't come home and sit down in front of the TV. We don't spend our weekends. I mean, we're DIYers at our home. Like, there's so many things that we DIY here at the science center. I mean, next up, we're going to, like, learn how to prepare parking lotholes.
So I think it's.
I think it's that ability to say to yourself, am I done learning? But I'm not done learning. Right. So you wake up every day and you're like, okay, hey, what's today going to bring? I don't know. Well, you know, I can always YouTube that or Google that or, you know, so I think it's just having an open attitude and a willingness to get dirty and sweaty and, you know, just kind of roll with the punches. Love that.
Sometimes it's hard for me to roll out of bed and get that mindset going, but I admire you for that.
Yeah.
Diane, are you an extrovert or an introvert?
That's a fun question.
Is this a truck question?
No, I think it's pretty clear.
I think age plays a role in that, too, because the older you get, the less you care, because you have your own agenda. And so it's either like, get on board or get out of the way. Yeah.
I think that's something that I need to remember specifically growing as a career. I need to remember that.
Yeah, same.
All right, Harley, you work directly with kids, families, and all of our educators every single day. And you play a really big role in shaping how people experience science here firsthand. So what first inspired you to step into this kind of work and what keeps you curious today?
Hmm.
Well, this kind of work was not anything I went to school for, by any means. I actually started off in a lab setting, kind of also like Diane did, I think, too. And I worked for the Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services in the division of plant industry for three years. I did a year, about a half a year year in college at the University of Florida. Go Gators. And then progressed and stayed in that for a little bit. And with that, I worked quite literally directly with little tiny wasps, little tiny fire ants, all these little tiny bugs that people typically get the ick from. I absolutely loved it. Lab settings are very organized, which, like I said before, is one of my biggest, like, loves in life. But being around those bugs was just, like, amazing. After that, I started dating somebody and we are still together now. And he lived up here in the Panhandle. And about two years in, he got a house and asked if I wanted to move in with him. And at that point, I had been a year into my, like, government career service job. I was doing everything I had hoped to be doing after college and was like, dang, that's a tough decision. So I start looking up those types of jobs up in this area. And insect control, biological control is not a huge thing up here. Everybody wants to do chemical control and just spray them and get them out of here, which I am very much so against. And so I was like, what the heck am I supposed to do? Until I met Kiana, which we also mentioned earlier. She better listen to this. And they were like, kiana works at this science center place. And I was like, what is that? Looked it up. And I was like, that looks super cool. They weren't hiring. I don't even think there was, like, a job description or anything. And I just emailed who I figured was in charge, which was Lisa, and just like, straight up wrote a few paragraphs and sent my resume and came in and they hired me the day of. And I, Lisa, I remember asking me a question, and she was like, you've worked in lab setting. You don't have any education. Why do you want to, like, do this? And I. I sat there quiet for so long because I had never thought about that before until I remember sitting in the greenhouse at my old job and sitting in my little lab room by myself, thinking of how cool it would be if everybody knew what was happening in this room or happening in the greenhouse and happening in the lab that all of these other people that I worked with were doing. And the only reason that can happen and the only way that can happen is through education and, like, sharing that information with other people. And I just also had a big passion at that point and still obviously do, about the environment and climate change and how people need to be a little bit More aware of their consumerism throughout their life and thinking about how much everybody just takes in and takes in and takes in and doesn't give and wanted to be able to give a little bit of that. So that, honestly, is what still drives me today. I am always a curious person. I look at everything and think about how everything works, why everything works constantly in my life to almost to a fault to where I can't even sleep at night. So, yeah, just, you know, my curiosity is what drives my passion for everybody to feel educated in science in particular.
I think that also helps whenever you're around these kids and you're around these families, bringing that curiosity to them because they can feel it from you, they feel it radiating from you that it's really something that you believe in. Now, a big part of what we do happens outside of the Science center through a lot of outreach and meeting people where they are. From your perspective, why is community outreach so important and what impact do you see it having on this community?
I think that ties a little bit back into what I was just finishing off saying. Everybody, all people, all ages, all ethnicities, all genders deserve a right to be able to learn science and have fun with science and know about it. So if we're able to reach those people in our community, some way shape or form and get that to them, even if it means they're going to look at a leaf or they're going to play with a 3D pen or explore a robot that some kids have never even seen in their entire life or even know that a robot could be like the size of a quarter, I think just seeing that smile on the kids faces and also adults faces is what makes you want to do more community engagement and makes it feel like the community outreach is important and that there needs to be more and more of it so that everybody can have that access.
When we go to these community events and you have a parent come up to you and say that my kid really loves the science center or they really like you because you listen to them and you showed them science in a new way. It really is inspiring. You mentioned that you really like to stay organized and that it helps you a ton. What are some ways that you do stay organized? Hmm.
Many different ways.
What I said. List Master.
Yeah. List.
List. List. List.
List, list.
I like to relax on the weekends, but sometimes it's very hard and sometimes I feel like a busy bee on the weekends and sometimes I just want to rot on the couch. But if I want to enjoy myself, sometimes I feel Like, I have to have something done. And to have something done, I need to write a list down so that I can plan when I'm going to be working on those things so that my brain can relax. And I hope other people can feel that agreement as well. And people listening can also agree with that. It sounds crazy, but even with, like, everybody here, if Diane is like, harley.
We need to do this project. This project.
I'm like, hold on, let me write it down. Because I don't have worker bee brain always on my. My bee gets a little full sometimes and needs to, like, go rest for a little bit. But I definitely always make a list. I always have, like a piece of paper with me or near me also trying to get, I guess, in terms of work, getting other people as well, to understand that organizing things makes it easier on everybody. Because if you are working with a team like us educators do, and you don't have a system of things that are organized and we run 20 different programs, things can get out of hand real fast, and they already sometimes do. But if you don't have systems in place that are going to help keep everybody organized and know that, okay, if I'm looking for a robot, it's always going to be in that one spot. It's not going to be, you know, in some random spot. It's going to help out everybody in the long run. So make a list, write it down, communicate with your co workers. And one of my biggest fears as well to. I don't want to bother people. And if that means that I need to make a list on what I need to do to get things done, whether that be day to day or to come back to in the future, that's what I'm going to try to do the most.
Sometimes it's really good to make lists anyways, just to get the stuff that's all accumulating in your brain out on paper so that, like you said, you can relax and take a moment.
A brain dump.
Yeah.
Even if you write that list and then never come back to it.
Yeah.
At least it's written.
You can go back to it later. All right, now I'm going to transition over to Maddie. So you joined the Science center just last year. And I've seen you grow into your role so quickly and so well. What has surprised you most since you first started working here?
It's only been a year. I don't know. Aging.
Yeah. My frontal love developed when I started.
You were born here.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
No, it's a good thing.
I think it's been a year born.
I think what surprised me the most is definitely I'm never bored. I'm always doing something new, something different. One day is never the same. I remember in my interview, Lisa asked me why I wanted to work here and transition from my old job. Well, simply because I needed something new every day. And she was like, well, you're gonna get that here. And I honestly, I was a little skeptical, but the first week, I was like, nope, she's right. She's right. It's something new. And that's really, like, what has made me stick. Because my background is in wildlife and biology, conservation, and I started in zoos, and I started working as a zookeeper intern, basically throughout my college career. And I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't fulfilling my day. And, like, props to you zookeepers, because I can't do the same thing every day. I can't. And I love the animals. Like, they're great. It's awesome. It's tiring. My back was hurting. And one year I was working in Oregon, and I got to do an education portion with some big cats. And I just saw this little girl in the front, like, her eyes light up. Like, she's just never learned about a cheetah before. She's never even heard the word. And afterwards, she was just like, I want to buy the cheetah stuffy. Like, I want to do this, this, and this. It was just that spark moment, too, that was just like, ah. I think really what surprised me is just day to day is different. That's also probably my favorite thing, too. Every day is different.
Maddie said, give me a challenge. My brain cannot be bored.
Please, please, please, or I will combust.
So looking back on your first year, even though it's felt like 10.
How.
Is your perspective on this kind of work changed and what's made you want to stay and grow and keep doing what you're doing?
I think my perspective on this work has definitely changed as the fact my mind can grow a lot larger than I think it can. It's not just stuck on one thing. Like, I came in with the wildlife and the ecology, and I loved it. But I can grow into the chemistry side. I can grow into the insect side, I can grow into the forensic. Anything is possible. I think that's really how my perspective has changed, really, with the science center and then what we do with the community. Anything can be possible if you just allow your mind to do it. You're not just stuck and really what's made me stay and grow is that spark. I see it every day almost now. It's so cool when I do creature features and a little kid is scared to touch a snake and the adult is also scared, but they're going to be brave for that little kid. And that just both of them have that moment. And that even on the long days, I'm tired. It's been a lot. I'm overwhelmed with just everything. Having that moment is like what keeps me fueling. It makes me stay longer throughout my day as well. What has made me want to grow, to also be a better educator now a volunteer coordinator as well.
It's also the best thing ever. When you're doing those presentations and one of like the parents or somebody who is older comes up to you and.
They'Re like, you're amazing.
Where did you go to school? And you're like, I just learn from working here, you know, over and over. So. So one thing that I don't think a lot of people realize about the Science center is that we are a nonprofit organization. And that changes everything about how we operate, from how we plan events to how we build, obtain exhibits, fun programs, and even connect with our community. Diane, could you share a little bit about what that looks like from your perspective? Maybe what makes a nonprofit work so rewarding, but also what could make it super challenging?
So when I came into this, I didn't have any business experience, I didn't have any nonprofit experience. I was literally a straight up scientist. So that was a huge learning curve. And I think the thing that makes a nonprofit different is you're not really chasing money, but then you are chasing money because you need funding to be able to do the things that you want to do. But everything that you do should be framed from the position of what is your mission, what is your vision, and how do you deliver that to your community. And then from that point you go out to seek like minded partners that are also trying to accomplish those things or maybe need you to accomplish those things so that one day they can have people in their workforce. And then there's so much relationship building, so much listening that needs to be done to your funders and to your community. Because sometimes you can have an idea of what you think everybody should learn or know. And then when you get out into your community, you realize, oh, well, that's. I was wrong. That was not what they needed. They need something different. So that ability to be able to collect and receive feedback from your community so you can address what the gaps Are. And what. What are we missing? So it's a lot of listening, a lot of being very humble and knowing that you don't know everything, even though you sit in this position of I'm the museum, but the museum needs to serve the needs of the community. What we do needs to reflect what our community wants to learn about. And sometimes we do need to drive some learning because we participate in the association of Science and Technology Centers. So that gives us opportunities to learn from other science centers what they're doing. And a lot of times when we attend those conferences, we come back and we're like, okay, what are some best practices? What are some new cutting edge things? What is happening in the wider, you know, what is OMSI in Portland doing? Or what is the Griffin in Chicago doing? Is there a way we can scale down and still bring those same programs to our community? Harley sat in on a session about middle school science socials, and we just did our first one of those in December and we had so much fun. It was such a great night, such a great event. We might not have thought about that had we not been listening to what other museums and science centers were doing. So I think the thing about being a nonprofit is really listening to your community, listening to people that have the same experiences that you have, and then figuring out how to create opportunities here that are guided by what we've just heard and learned.
I think it's important to stay open and receive that feedback, listen, and then also be able to adapt to those new ideas and experiences. Maddie, before working here, what did you think nonprofit work looked like? And is there anything that you understand differently now? How has that changed for you since you first started?
I definitely thought it was exactly what Diane started talking about. I thought it was about chasing money, essential, not being, of course, being humble. But I didn't think it was more about communication. I thought it was more about, like, make a social media post, we need money and people will come and help you. Sometimes that's the case. But like, I'm learning, it's a slower process. And I'm definitely like, as being a volunteer coordinator and diving more into the education in different parts of this county, I'm learning how business communication works. And I think that has been a struggle personally for me because I'm introverted, I'm very shy, very quiet. But I am learning that it's okay to be like that. But you also have to reach out to your skills and learn how to be professional and communicate with other people in a business setting.
Look at you now you're on a podcast.
Yeah. Grow that. Grow the brain.
Right, Harley, from your perspective, why does supporting local nonprofits like Science center really matter?
Well, always you should be supporting small businesses over the big corporate businesses, first and foremost. Secondly, most nonprofits are going to. They're a nonprofit because they're trying to reach the people in the community who need it most. Whether that be us, the Science center, whether that be an organization trying to help with food insecurity, whether that be with an organization trying to help give beds for children, they're going to try to help those people who need it the most and provide as much equitable and inclusive, any sort of resources for anybody. For us, we're always going to try to provide that equitable, inclusive education. But nonprofits are going to be there to help everyone, especially the people who.
Need it the most.
Exactly. Say for the people in the back.
Louder. Yes.
Need to hear that.
I wanted to talk about the future for just a minute. This is a question for all of you. What are your goals for the Science center in the coming years or even just this year? What do you hope to see happen in our community?
Unfortunately, my goals for the Science center are financial ones. So they're not fun and they're not, you know, inspiring joy. But there are things that we need to get done. We reside in an aging facility and there are some maintenance and upgrades that need to be done to the facility so that we continue to be inside of this building. I mean, things like mortgage payoffs and replacing roofs and fixing parking lots. And those are things that I have to do. Then other things that I would love to be able to do, put new flooring in the museum, upgrade the lighting system inside of the building. You know, the building was built in 1977, so I don't really have any fun. Fantastic goals. All of my goals are like really soul crushing financial goals for the upcoming year or so. So Harley and Maddie, pipe in with something fun.
Well, Diane and I just got back from the Florida Arts and Cultural Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Tallahassee. We talked about a lot of things and since now taking on the exhibit curation sort of title officially, even though I was already doing a lot of it, since taking it on officially, one of my big goals is to stay it on theme here, organize all of the specimens that we have. We have a bajillion specimens, we have so many. And I would love to get them all organized, alphabetized through groups so that they're easier to use for when we want to use Them for education if we ever want to pull them up for a pop up exhibit, really anything, get all those organized and spruce up some, some of the cabinets and stuff with some specimens that we haven't seen in a while. That's kind of my next biggest goal. And obviously fixing some little things here and there, but that will happen on a week by week basis.
So. Yeah.
So I guess I've been thinking about this goal for just a little bit and I haven't written it down. I haven't really thought anything out too much. But I would love to gather kids of all ages from different schools and create some sort of science center club where we could do projects around the center after school, where we could go in community and represent the science center and working with other small businesses doing something science related. But it's a club run out of the science center and it's kids from public, private, homeschool, after school programs, anything like that. That's kind of a goal. I would love to think through more and to work out more and definitely bring up to Diane and everybody and the whole team.
I think that's a really good idea. And it also plays into Diane's notes about being beloved, making people want to see themselves in this place and having a club to where people can do that I think is a great idea. Now, before we wrap up, I really want to take a minute to appreciate all the amazing people behind the scenes. Our educators, who bring energy to every day. They teach, they plan, they inspire our community. Our animal caretakers, who work super hard to take care of all of our creatures, big and small, which is a really big responsibility. Then we also have our admin and our office team who somehow keeps everything running smoothly, like our program's coordinator, Lisa and our development and marketing coordinator, Kate. We would be absolute chaos without them. And of course, our amazing volunteers. We truly couldn't do what we do without them. Every single person here plays a big part in keeping our mission alive. And that's what makes the science center so special. And speaking of the team, we have a lot of fun things coming up this year. One of the biggest things on our calendar is our biggest fundraiser of the year. And it's one that I know a lot of people look forward to. Da da da da. My chemical cocktail. Diane, can you tell us a little bit about it and why it's such an important event for the Science center?
So if we go back to talking about nonprofits and one of the things that nonprofits have to do a lot of is fundraising and the goal of every nonprofit is to find your signature event. This is an event that is uniquely you and people look forward to year after year. And that's what we've done with My Chemical Cocktail is we've created our signature fundraising event. We do it here at the Science Center. This year it's going to be Saturday, February 28, from 6 to 9pm and it's a competition between local bars, and we ask them to come up with some really chemistry based. Whether it's density, whether it's color changing, whether it has sublimation, whether it has. It creates a dry ice cream thing or the. The one year that we had the little berries that you ate and they made everything taste Sensory. Yes, very sensory. And I have to give a huge shout out to those bars that participate with us because we set the stage and they really bring the magic. It's not anything that we do. We just allow this opportunity for them to be here, and they make all of the fun happen. So that's not on us. That's on our competitors. This year so far, our competitors include Bitterroot Beach View Home 2 Suites, Emerald Coast Vibe, and Soundside Waterfront Bar. So we have some returning competitors, and we have some new competitors as well. We'll have entertainment by David Jukebox Butler from the Gulf coast piano shows. We'll have raffle items. We'll have snacks. A lot of the snacks we make in house. And so everybody has their thing like they're one appetizer that they make that they bring. So you're really getting all of the talent of the Science center displayed for you. Our culinary as well as our educational talents are on display. So this is. This really means a lot to us. The money that we can raise here allows us to do exhibit repairs to kind of get us ready for the upcoming summer season, which is usually our busiest time of the year, when we hardly have time to even breathe. And so we like to put on a fresh shiny face for the summer.
When the kids are out of school.
And they're here and we run a ton of extra programming. So it takes a lot of effort to get all of that ready to roll. And that's what the My Chemical cocktail does, is it help us to put a little money aside to make sure the magic happens all summer long. So we really appreciate everybody joining us for that event, and we'd love to see you there.
All right, Diane, Harley, Maddie, thank you so much for sitting down with me today and sharing your passion for science. Thank you to everyone listening, whether you're a part of the Science Center. Family already or just discovering us. We're so glad that you're here. Every day we get to inspire curiosity, and that's because of this incredible community that believes in what we do. So thank you for helping us keep that curiosity alive. Until next time, keep exploring, keep asking questions, and keep cultivating curiosity.
Bye.
It.