The El Paso Children’s Museum and Science Center is pleased to announce a $1 million donation from William and Cita Sanders and The Sanders Foundation. The funds will be used to launch Fly High, a zone dedicated to aeronautics.
“We are truly grateful for this generous gift from The Sanders Foundation and the lasting impact it will have for the children and families in our binational community,” said Barry Van Deman, Executive Director of the El Paso Children’s Museum and Science Center. “With this gift, we are much closer to reaching our goal of having all nine zones sponsored. The Fly High zone will be educational, fun, and challenging. It’s part of our promise that the El Paso’s Children’s Museum and Science Center will be world-class.”
The Fly High zone and exhibit will give participants the opportunity to design, build, and launch paper airplanes over a scale model of the Franklin Mountains, complete with the Star on the Mountain. Visitors will analyze the design of the plane and its flight data. Young aviators can use the data to improve their planes to avoid turbulence, updrafts, and crosswinds.
“The Sanders Foundation is pleased to be a part of this phenomenal community project. We can’t wait for our grandchildren and all the families in our region to enjoy the experiences the museum and science center will offer. The educational resources will be endless,” said Cita Sanders, who has served as a board member of the El Paso Children’s Museum and Science Center since its inception.
"This gift is about far more than money," said Eric Pearson, President and CEO of the El Paso Community Foundation. "It connotes the Sanders's commitment to excellence and the ideals of what's possible, and those are important tenets of this facility."
The Sanders Foundation was created in 1993 by William and Louann (Cita) Sanders to provide higher education opportunities to exceptional students in the El Paso and New Mexico regions. In 2004, the Foundation expanded its mission within the El Paso community to support various children’s educational and cultural initiatives, as well as local cultural programs.
The El Paso Children’s Museum and Science Center is a public-private partnership of the El Paso Community Foundation and the City of El Paso. It was approved by El Paso voters as part of a Quality of Life Bond election in 2012, and is now under construction in downtown El Paso. For more information on the El Paso Children’s Museum and Science Center, please visit epcmuseum.org.