The Cox Science Center and Aquarium’s annual gala is called the Smarty Party because, thanks to its tradition of brilliant guest speakers, everybody leaves a little bit smarter.
Everybody, that is, except the boozehounds who kill off all those brain cells with the champagne refills.
Not that we would know.
The “Smarty Party 2026: The Science of Sleep took” place Jan. 15 at the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion.
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Amanda Cummings, Victoria Hagan, Deborah Norville and Laing Rogers once again served as chairwomen for the evening, which featured Nobel Prize winner Dr. Michael Young as guest speaker/Smart Guy.
The evening included a cocktail reception, dinner and a one-on-one chat between Norville and Young under hundreds of flowers cascading from the ballroom’s ceiling.
“Everyone leaves the Smarty Party knowing a little more than when they walked in the door,” said Norville. “It is my privilege tonight not to conduct a fireside chat, but a ‘flowerside’ chat with Dr. Young, the 2017 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine. We could not have a better speaker to share his knowledge about circadian rhythms and how to get a good night’s sleep.”
Young told Norville how his childhood fascination with a night-blooming flower in Florida sparked the research that led to his Nobel Prize.
CSCA board chairman Eric Stonestrom also spoke.
“Thank you to all of our supporters who have donated so generously in support of our efforts,” said Stonestrom. “These are exciting times at CSCA. Thanks to our Smarty Party leadership, we broke our fundraising record last year, and we are thrilled to do it again this year.”
More than 350 people attended te event, which raised $2.4 million.
Proceeds help support CSCA’s educational outreach, hands-on exhibits and STEM-based programming, in keeping with its mission to “open every mind to science.
In 2021, the Center launched a capital expansion campaign, projected to open in 2027. The expansion will allow CSCA to grow its attendance to nearly 1 million guests annually in new and renovated spaces, including a new Hall of Science visible from I-95, expanded outdoor areas and one of Florida’s largest indoor aquariums. The campus is expected to triple in size to over 100,000 square feet, with the aquarium increasing to 160,000 gallons.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Science Center’s Palm Beach gala is a real snoozer. But that’s good.
Reporting by Shannon Donnelly, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shannon Donnelly, Palm Beach Daily News | USA TODAY Network
