California Science Center
“Barbara was a significant contributor to the success of the California Science Center. She has extensive experience in project management, understands the interface between buildings and exhibits, pays attention to both the details and the big picture, and is flexible and quick to pick up on things. It is a pleasure to work with her.”
— Jeffrey Rudolph, President & CEO, California Science Center
Snapshot
Location: Los Angeles, California
Phase I
Size: 250,000 sf
Budget: $20,000,000 (exhibits, signage & site-specific artwork)
Open: 1998
Phase II
Size: 180,000 sf expansion
Budget: $140,000,000 (building, gardens, live animal and interactive exhibits)
Open: 2010
Phase III
Size: 200,000 sf expansion
Budget: $400,000,000
Open: TBD
Story
After serving millions of visitors as the California Museum of Science and Industry, the museum embarked on a multi-phase master plan for an entirely new facility—the California Science Center. Barbara Punt was hired on staff in 1995 to manage the exhibit, signage, and site-specific artwork development and installation. To accomplish this $20 million scope, she created a sophisticated budget and schedule tracking system. She then selected, contracted, and managed seven different design/fabrication firms and artists in the United States, India, and Italy, along with two general contractors and a landscape architect required to complete the project.
Upon the successful opening of Phase I, the Science Center promoted Barbara to Project Director for the Phase II expansion wing—a $140 million project encompassing a new gallery on ecology, as well as a 50,000 square foot office addition and retail component. The complex interplay of building requirements and exhibit types necessitated selecting, hiring, and managing two teams of architects, two teams of exhibit designers for the live exhibits (aquatic and terrestrial), interactive exhibits and media, and a specialty landscape architect to design an open-air rainforest. Barbara saw the project through final construction documents prior to an extended hiatus for fundraising.