Gift will help build portal connecting Science City and the Gottlieb Planetarium

The Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation will donate $250,000 toward building a “space portal” that will connect Science City, the Gottlieb Planetarium and the Regnier Extreme Screen Theatre at Union Station.

The portal will be designed to resemble a futuristic space station.

The project is part of a planned $10 million renovation that will include a western expansion of Science City as well as an automobile and pedestrian bridge from the west end of Union Station to the existing parking garage. Station officials say they are nearly 85 percent of the way to their fundraising goal. The project received $2.25 million in state tax credits.

The space portal will create a free flow of access to the theater and planetarium without leaving Science City.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Gift will help build portal connecting Science City and the Gottlieb Planetarium."