MOSH CEO hopes to open new museum in late 2024

Jacksonville, FL. —

We are finally getting a clearer timeline on when Jacksonville’s Museum of Science and History (MOSH) plans to open up their new location.

Action News Jax’s Alicia Tarancon listened in on a downtown vision meeting.

She reports on how much money museum leaders believe the new facility will help generate for downtown Jacksonville.

Julia Ard and her family spent Tuesday morning looking for activities to do in downtown Jacksonville with her daughter.

We told her Jacksonville’s Museum of Science and History is working on building a brand new innovative building where children can learn.

“I think it’s really cool, science is an important part of school and growing up,” Ard said.

Last year Action News Jax showed you these drawings of what the new MOSH site may look like.

MOSH CEO Bruce Fafard said the new museum would add a roof top restaurant, new café, classrooms, and more.

“For example you see that the front lawn is really a large park, a place of people to gather but in addition to a park it’s also going to be an exhibit space for MOSH,” he said.

Fafard said the goal is to open the museum’s new location on north bank where the shipyards are by late 2024.

He said he’s hoping to finalize plans to get the land on the north bank by late summer of 2021.

He said the museum is working on gaining access to that land and right now it’s in talks with the city and Downtown Investment Authority.

Ard told Action News Jax she can’t wait to see what the new facility will provide kids.

“Our little girl really likes the hands on stuff learning about everything,” Ard said.

The Museum has already raised 32% of it’s Capital Campaign but it still needs more in order to pay for the entire project which has an 85 million dollar price tag.

Fafard said once built the new MOSH will help generate a $33 million economic impact for Duval County and create more than 350 jobs.

Cox Media Group