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Filling Startup Ecosystem Gaps – University City Science Center
Established in 1963 as the country’s first urban research park, the Science Center has spent the last 60 years filling gaps in the startup ecosystem. As those gaps have changed, so too has this nonprofit.
Today, the Science Center operates at the intersection of startups, life science and healthcare, and community to drive inclusive economic growth. The organization continues to fill ecosystem gaps through programs that help big ideas become thriving businesses and nurture a diverse STEM workforce.
Five Fun Science Center Facts
11. In 1973 R. Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome, joined the Science Center as World Fellow in Residence. The futurist and author who inspired the space of Disney’s Epcot Center, was honored in the Science Center’s inaugural class of the Innovators Walk of Fame in 2014.
12. The Science Center has supported 700+ companies, 200+ of which remain in Greater Philadelphia.
13. In Greater Philadelphia alone, Science Center-supported companies account for $7.6B in annual economic impact. And yes, that is a “B.”
14. A mountain of impact. 29,100 full-time equivalent jobs are supported by the Science Center. If each job was represented by a foot (12 inches), it would be taller than Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world, which reaches an elevation of 29,032 feet.
15. The average salary at Science Center-supported companies is $105,000, 83% above the median annual wage in the region.
Five (5) Other Things You Should Know About the Science Center
16. They, like BioBuzz, believe that “diverse companies and a diverse workforce are essential to performance and impact.” Of the 100+ businesses they supported through their commercialization programs last year, 52% were run by foreign-born founders, 45% were minority founders, and 39% were female-founded.
17. The Science Center is home to FirstHand, a STEM education program that has served over 3,950 students (80% of which are living in or attending school in a West Philadelphia Promise Zone), has accounted for 34,000 youth impact hours, and has engaged over 230 STEM mentors and 78 companies.
Located on the 5th floor of 3675 Market and embedded within the bustling activity of CIC Labs, FirstHand’s 5,000 SQFT space welcomes hundreds of middle and high school students into the lab every year for multi-week, industry-informed curricula designed to open their eyes to the vast array of career opportunities in STEM fields.
18. The Science Center [and 3675 Market Street] is also home to Venture Café Philadelphia, which celebrated its 5th anniversary in November. Their Thursday Gatherings are free, open to the public, and create an opportunity for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and the innovation-curious to convene around engaging content with its celebrity bartenders, fireside chats with thought leaders, panel discussions, and more. Check out their upcoming schedule.
19. Quorum Lounge. We [really] don’t need to say much more. It’s free, it’s open to the public, and you never know who you’ll run into. The Science Center’s Quorum Lounge is like a living room for the uCity Square community and beyond. The 5,000 SQFT space on the ground floor of 3675 regularly serves as touchdown space for students, professionals, and entrepreneurs alike.
20. And last, but certainly not least, on the second floor of the Science Center’s Quorum event space you’ll find a large-scale painting worth seeking out. Painted by the late Edith Neff, this masterwork of Philadelphia Realism captures a summer afternoon in a West Philly neighborhood. Commissioned by the Science Center in 1972 as part of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art program, the triptych is the largest painting Edith Neff ever created, spanning 30 feet when hung together.
