The Museum of Science and History (MOSH) in Jacksonville is one step closer to its visionary riverfront campus, thanks to the city’s approval of $50 million in funding.
The museum has already secured $40 million in corporate and private donations and will continue to solicit contributions.
Plans call for MOSH to move from its Southbank location near Friendship Fountain, which it has occupied since 1969, to a new $100 million-plus facility where Hogans Creek flows into the St. Johns River, across from EverBank Stadium.
Construction on new MOSH campus
MOSH expects to start construction on the site in 2025, with the new museum scheduled to open its doors in 2027. The construction timeline means workers will build the new MOSH at the same time others renovate EverBank Stadium just down the street.
MOSH Genesis
The museum announced MOSH Genesis in 2020, a plan to leave its longtime home on the Southbank and build a new facility on the downtown side of the river. CSX donated $10 million earlier this year to become the museum’s title sponsor.
“Formalizing this next phase of our partnership with the City of Jacksonville reinforces our shared commitment to seeing the new MOSH facility proceed with development,” said Al Dove, MOSH’s chief executive officer.
Dove said projections call for up to 450,000 visitors per year to the new museum once it opens. It will form part of a renovated Northbank that will include the USS Orleck warship, a Jacksonville fire museum, parkland and Shad Khan’s Shipyards West development, plus more than a billion dollars of improvements to EverBank Stadium.
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The new MOSH campus
MOSH will have almost twice the space as the current facility, in a three-floor, 100,000-square-foot building. Exhibits will use aspects of the St. Johns River as a navigation guide for visitors, beginning with a two-story water feature representing the 27-foot drop from the St. Johns’ headwaters in Indian River County to where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville. Then guests will follow “pathways that mimic the river’s role in connecting the region” interspersed with collections and content “islands” showcasing the area’s “nature, innovation and culture,” according to MOSH.
MSH completed a conceptual exhibit plan for its proposed new campus at the Shipyards development on Jacksonville’s Northbank last year.
MOSH Genesis Project Factsheet
Project Name: MOSH Genesis
Project Overview:
Relocation of Jacksonville’s Museum of Science and History (MOSH)
Moving from Southbank to a new riverfront campus on the downtown side
MOSH New Location:
Where Hogans Creek flows into the St. Johns River
Across from EverBank Stadium
Read also: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Expansion, Kansas
Project Timeline:
Announced: 2020
Construction Start: Expected 2025
Opening: Scheduled for 2027
Project Cost:
Total estimated cost: $100 million-plus
Funding for the new MOSH campus:
City Commitment: $50 million
Part of 2025-29 capital improvement plan
Spread over three years
First $3 million approved for budget year starting Oct. 1, 2023
Corporate and Private Donations: $40 million secured
Land Lease Agreement:
City to lease the site to MOSH for 40 years
Annual rent: $1 per year
New MOSH campus Details:
Size: 100,000 square feet
Floors: 3
Nearly double the space of current facility
Projected Annual Visitors: Up to 450,000
Read also: Penn Museum to begin renovations on its Ancient Egypt and Nubia Galleries
Key Features:
Two-story water feature representing St. Johns River
Exhibits using river aspects as navigation guide
Collections and content “islands” showcasing local nature, innovation, and culture
Surrounding Development:
Part of renovated Northbank
Nearby attractions: USS Orleck warship, Jacksonville fire museum, parkland
Adjacent to Shad Khan’s Shipyards West development
Concurrent with EverBank Stadium renovations (over $1 billion in improvements)
Current MOSH Location:
On Southbank near Friendship Fountain
Occupied since 1969
Project Leadership:
Al Dove: MOSH Chief Executive Officer
