The Benjamin School, a private school in North Palm Beach, Fla., is planning to build a $3.6 million science center.
The Palm Beach Post reports that the 1,100-student independent day school is looking to start construction on the Maglio Family STEM Center by January and finish by the end of 2018.
The two-story center will have lower and middle school science labs, space and equipment for students to work on computing and technology projects, and an aquatics room with tanks and a greenhouse. The 12,000-square-foot space will connect with existing buildings on campus via a 30-foot-high skybridge.
Head of Middle School Charles Hagy says the school’s curriculum has outgrown its facilities.
“This will accommodate what we’re already doing and allow us to do more,” he says.
The STEM center is named for Bill and Madeline Maglio, whose five grandchildren attend The Benjamin School. The couple’s $2.5 million donation for the science lab came from the Maglio family and the Berlin Family Foundation.
The Benjamin School has another $14 million of building projects on the runway, including a $4 million swimming and diving complex, a $7 million field house with three full-size basketball/volleyball courts and a $3 million varsity house — permanent bleachers with a press box, lockers, concession stands and storage.
The school's program range from early childhood through 12th grade. The Lower and Middle School campus in North Palm Beach has about 665 students enrolled; another 425 or so students attend the Upper School in Palm Beach Gardens.
