Besides not being on the same wavelength with Center in the Square executives on a vision for the future that includes more interactive experiences (as first reported here) – and not drawing enough visitors – the amount of water used by exhibits at the Science Museum of Western Virginia and a major leak that will cost the Center another $20,000 annually in insurance premiums also led to the Science Museum’s lease not being renewed past the end of this year. That today from Center in the Square President Tara Marciniak.
(News Release) Our team at Center in the Square has seen that our community is interested in understanding why The Science Museum of Western Virginia’s lease will not be renewed by our nonprofit. In full transparency, a few reasons led up to this decision. The catalyst for our decision was that several of The Science Museum of Western Virginia’s exhibits utilize copious amounts of water. Housing exhibits requiring tremendous amounts of water have proven to be ones that are not logical to house on the fourth and fifth floors of Center in the Square. Over the past five years, multiple preventable water leak situations have negatively impacted our building as well as the operations of our tenants on the floors below.
The most devastating water leak caused our Kids Square children’s museum to close for a four-month period of time. Our insurance claim totaled upwards of $830,000 and for the first time in
our history, that insurance company did not renew our contract due to this water damage claim. Center in the Square will now pay an additional $20,000 annually simply to maintain the same
level of insurance we had previously with another company.
We have had multiple conversations with The Science Museum of Western Virginia’s leadership over the years related to their exhibits, their visions for the future, their ability to draw guests into Downtown Roanoke and more, and those conversations, coupled with the liability of their exhibits, have caused Center in the Square’s Executive Committee to determine that it is best for our nonprofit to reclaim the fourth and fifth floors to bring new, interactive exhibits to our guests at the end of the 2026 year.
We wish The Science Museum of Western Virginia well in their future endeavors.
Tara Marciniak
President and General Manager
Center in the Square
