The former Science Center of Pinellas County has been named a Florida Heritage Site, joining a statewide program that recognizes places central to the state’s history.
The designation comes through the Florida Historical Marker Program, administered by the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources. The program places a metal marker at qualifying sites to tell the story of the people and places that shaped Florida. Applications go before the State Historical Marker Council, which reviews submissions throughout the year before granting approval.
The new marker was sponsored by the St. Petersburg Foundation and the Florida Department of State. It traces the center’s history from its founding in 1953 by retired realtor William Guild through its opening in 1966 and its closing in 2014. During more than 50 years of operation, the center hosted over 250,000 students and featured Tampa Bay’s first computer lab open to schoolchildren, a planetarium maintained by the St. Petersburg Astronomy Club and a life sized replica of a 16th century Tocobaga village.
