JoAnn Newman, President & CEO, Orlando Science Center

JoAnn Newman, president and CEO of Orlando Science Center, spoke with Invest: about how the center is expanding its impact through exhibit renovations, community outreach, and strategic partnerships across Central Florida. “At the core of it, families want a safe and welcoming space,” Newman said.

What have been the most significant milestones and achievements for Orlando Science Center over the past year?

Orlando Science Center is essentially four floors of interactive exhibits, and our mission is to inspire science learning for all in the community. There is a lot happening here at the Science Center. We are continuing to raise money through a capital campaign we call the Unlock Science Campaign, and as we raise those funds, we are pouring them back into the Science Center to renovate our major exhibit halls, upgrade them, and make sure they remain relevant. We are really striving for an excellent visitor experience, and that is what we focus on.

In the last year alone, we underwent construction on another major exhibit hall project involving our eight-story domed theater. We are moving that theater from film to digital and doing a complete renovation. We are replacing one large projector with eight 8K digital laser projectors, redoing the dome surface that serves as the screen, and installing all new seating. It is a major transformation, and it opens up incredible possibilities for content. We are going to focus more on planetarium shows and astronomy, while also being able to show full-length feature films in a way that aligns with a science museum setting.

Another recent investment was the creation of our Life exhibit, which is centered on nature and conservation. It includes a fully enclosed rainforest space with a free-flight aviary, a sloth, monkeys, an ocean habitat, and a swamp experience. That has been working very well for us. We also took over the retail store after outsourcing it for the past 10 years, and that has been a great move. We wanted a more branded presence so visitors could leave feeling even more connected to the institution. In addition, we continue to expand Neighborhood Science, our community-based after-school program, which now operates in three locations and provides free STEM experiences to children in their own neighborhoods.

How has demand for STEM education and experiential learning evolved in greater Orlando?

There has certainly been an evolution in educational programming, and the expectations of our community have continued to change as well. There is strong demand from families who want to come together and have an experience as a family unit that works for all ages. We hear from people that they want their children to have less screen time, they want to do more things together, and they want those experiences to be fun and engaging.

You have to lead with that sense of fun and engagement, but families also want something educational. At the core of it, they want a safe and welcoming space as well. There is very high demand for what a science museum can uniquely provide. That combination of education, hands-on learning, and shared family experience has become increasingly important, and that is very much shaping how we think about programming and the visitor experience overall.

What new trends are shaping how science centers deliver programming today?

One of the biggest trends I see is a move toward more immersive experiences. Science museums are looking at how to create those experiences while balancing affordability, because a truly immersive environment can be expensive to develop. Theme parks can do incredible, fully immersive experiences on a very large scale, but we are a nonprofit organization, so our responsibility is different. Our goal is to keep general admission affordable for the broader community while also making sure we are serving everyone.

That creates a constant balancing act. I do think there is more emphasis now on storytelling and on learning from organizations that do storytelling especially well. That may not always have been front and center for science museums, but it is becoming increasingly important. For us, another differentiator is that while our experiences may be on a smaller scale than what you might see in a major attraction, we can offer much more personal interaction.

At Orlando Science Center, we have put a strong focus on the programming side of the museum. Our team is out on the floor facilitating experiences, helping guests use the exhibits, and making the most of their visit. We run scheduled shows, but our staff members are also present in the exhibit halls to support families in real time. We are very data-driven, and what we consistently see in visitor feedback is that people remember the interactions they had with staff. Sometimes they remember that even more than a specific exhibit. It is about how you make people feel, how welcome they feel, and how you help them get the most out of the experience.

How important is community access to the Science Center’s broader mission?

It is absolutely central to what we do. We want to create a great visitor experience inside the building, but another major focus is getting out into the community and reaching people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to come to us. That is the purpose behind Neighborhood Science. We are now in our fourth year of that program. We started with one location, and as of last year, we were able to add a third. It is an after-school program that provides free workshops and STEM experiences to children in those neighborhoods. 

We really want to build relationships with communities across Orlando, and we want children to have access to these opportunities regardless of whether they can visit the Science Center itself. That outreach work is a major milestone for us because it reflects our mission in action. It is not only about who comes through our doors. It is also about how we serve the community as a whole.

How do partnerships strengthen Orlando Science Center’s ability to deliver high-quality experiences?

Partnerships are everything for us. We could not do what we do without them. A great example is our annual STEM festival, SPARK, which takes place over Presidents Day weekend. This past year, we had more than 8,000 people come to the Science Center over three days, and we had 50 partners participate. That included organizations such as Disney, which built an escape room for guests, and Lockheed Martin, which brought simulators and hands-on engineering activities. AdventHealth offered virtual reality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, and the University of Central Florida (UCF) Office of Research served as the presenting sponsor.

We also welcomed former astronaut Nicole Stott, who participated in our adults-only evening event and spent hours engaging with families during a makerspace session where participants built spacesuits from recycled materials. Events like SPARK showcase not only the region’s innovation ecosystem, but also the depth of support we receive from partners who want to share their expertise and technology with the public.

Our partnerships span school systems, higher education, corporations, and individual donors. We have strong relationships with UCF, Valencia College, Seminole State College, Rollins College, and others. We are in the heart of Orange County, one of the largest school districts in the country, and those relationships are incredibly important because we see about 150,000 students every year, either on-site or through our outreach work. We also have a fleet of vans that allows us to bring programming directly into schools and community centers. Those partnerships are invaluable.

How does Orlando’s growth and innovation economy influence the Science Center’s role?

We are very fortunate to be in Orlando, which is such a fast-growing region. Some science centers in other parts of the country have not fully returned to their pre-COVID attendance levels, but we are in a very different situation here. Demand is high, Orlando is growing, and we are surrounded by an innovative and creative community that pushes us to keep moving forward.

That environment challenges us to continue improving the visitor experience and to stay current with what our community needs and expects. We are also in the theme park capital of the world, so we see firsthand what exceptional customer service looks like. We have learned from that, and we believe we can provide a similarly high level of service in our own way. Orlando’s broader momentum in science, technology, innovation, and business only reinforces the importance of our role as a place where families, students, and the community can engage with STEM in meaningful ways.

How do you see science education and experiential learning changing over the next three to five years?

Our focus will remain on listening to the community, continuing to grow, and raising the funds we need to invest back into the Science Center so that the experience can be the best it can be. Content is still key. It is the foundation of everything we do. The next piece that goes along with that is communication and marketing — not just product marketing to sell tickets, but what we call institutional marketing.

For us, institutional marketing is about telling our full story, explaining why we are valuable, and helping people understand the depth and breadth of what a science museum does. Many people do not realize how extensive that work is, from exhibits and education to outreach and partnerships. Being able to tell that story clearly helps drive participation and encourages more people to get involved. It helps build a larger family of support around the institution.

I think science centers will continue to place more emphasis on experience, storytelling, access, and community relevance. For us, that means continuing to invest in great content, strengthening our relationships across the region, and making sure we remain a place where people feel welcomed, inspired, and connected to science in a very personal way.