The California Science Center (CSC) in Los Angeles has announced a $25 million grant from Kent Kresa and the Kresa Family Foundation in support of CSC’s Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is currently under construction.

The gift will help complete CSC’s 200,000-square-foot expansion, which has raised $350 million of an expected $400 million cost. CSC also announced a $25 million gift from Korean Air that was made in September.

In recognition of the foundation’s gift, one of the center’s three main galleries will be named after Kresa and feature interactive exhibits, a stellar artifact collection, and an examination of how the machines built to explore space extend humanity’s reach and help transform a broader understanding of the universe and Earth. Northrup Grumman, where Kresa served as president, CEO, and chair in the 1990s, has donated the Space Shuttle Endeavour solid rocket motors that will become part of the 20-story “full-stack vertical display” at the expanded museum and learning center.

“Southern California’s aerospace industry has been and continues to be at the forefront of innovation, dramatically improving our understanding of the world and the cosmos,” said Kresa. “My gift to the California Science Center is an investment in our youth, to inspire them to be part of scientific pursuits and fuel tomorrow’s discoveries.”

(Photo credit: California Science Center)