Arizona Science Center receives $265k donation

The Arizona Science Center announced their brand new “Innovation Hallway” at CREATE on November 5th. This unveiling honored Jon Madonna, an AT&T retiring board member, and his wife, Lynn, who is a Center Trustee.

For this project, AT&T donated $250,000 to the Center under the Madonna’s name to support CREATE. The CREATE initiative was put in place to instill a centralized community with the use of computer equipment to partner with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). An extra $15,000 was given by AT&T to support young girls in getting involved with STEM projects. The goal is for more women to enter the STEM workforce, to provide more equality within the workplace.

These donations were announced during the 4th Annual ‘Girls in STEM’ event, which taught classes to young women who are interested in STEM careers. During the day’s festivities, there were 150 school children, ranging from 4th to 8th grade, who participated in building their own rockets. The rocket process involved design, decoration, and preparation. At the end of the day, all the students launched their rockets at the same time. In attendance were Councilwoman Kate Gallego and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton to watch the fun.


The president of the Arizona and New Mexico AT&T Centers, Jerry Fuentes, had this to say at the end of the event: “AT&T strongly believes in providing STEM training to students to help prepare them for future success in the workplace. That’s why we’re proud to support the Arizona Science Center. It’s an investment in the future of our community.”

The “Innovation Hallway” is one way that the Arizona Science Center wants to give back to help children dream big. The children of our world are the future, and the Arizona Science Center wants to continue to develop young minds for years to come.