New museum takes shape in Downtown Miami

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Builders have reached the halfway point in the construction of the new Museum of Science, which is expected to make a major cultural and economic impact in South Florida.

Imagine standing in the middle of a five-story, open air atrium with a massive aquarium and hammerhead sharks swimming above your head. "Right now, you would be in what's called the atrium," said CEO Miami Science Museum's Frank Steslow.

The Museum of Science is coming together. It's a spectacular sight that will attract the community to Downtown Miami. It will be the final leg of the Cultural Center along Biscayne Boulevard.

Steslow showed 7News around the construction site and pointed out the many highlights you can expect once this museum opens sometime in 2015. "It's going to be a wonderful structure. In the evenings we'll be projecting images on the outside of the planetarium," he said. "We can turn that ball into things like the planet Earth or like a big pumpkin during Halloween."

There will be a cafe, a roof top garden with an exercise trail, five floors of exhibits, some interactive, and one exhibit called "People of Science."

The museum is expected to be a popular sight with an estimated 700,000 visitors coming opening year and about 600,000 visitors coming year after year. "There are lots of different ways to spend time here, Museum Park, enjoy both museums in the same day," said Steslow.

The museum, an educational mecca that's creating a economic boom in the area. About 700 people are working for an extended period of time. The cost of the museum is about $300 million with a lot of that money being invested in the local economy.

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