“All hands on deck”: That’s the philosophy of business person and philanthropist Jodi Oh.
Together with her family, Oh recently gave a $5 million gift to the Cox Science Center & Aquarium in West Palm Beach. The campus is undergoing a major expansion that will triple its indoor exhibit space to 100,000 square feet and grow the aquarium to 130,000 gallons from 10,000.
Oh’s contribution will be used to finance the center’s expanded lobby, which will be the Oh’s Lobby for Discovery. This lobby will highlight major achievements in research and discovery, ranging from deep ocean research to space.
Oh said the goal is to expose children of all ages to opportunities in science. It’s a lofty task that takes detailed work and planning, she said: “It doesn’t just happen.”
Cox Science Center’s expansion can help inspire new generation
And it takes teamwork to make it happen, which is why Oh says “all hands on deck” is her approach to any challenge, including preparing the next generation for careers in science and technology.
“We are doing ourselves a disservice if we don’t help open doors for people of all ages,” said Oh, who recently became a Jupiter resident. “That’s what brought me to Cox. This expansion is opening doors for everybody. Its focus is on the younger children, but the expansion is going to give an opportunity for everyone.”
She added: “For the budding scientists in grade school, for the high schooler who can’t figure out what they want to do, you’re not going to know unless you’re exposed to it.”
The Oh family lives the philosophy through its company, Accel International, maker of silver plated, Nickel-plated and tin-plated copper and copper alloys for the wire and cable market.
Accel, based in Connecticut, serves the aerospace, medical, telecommunications and industrial markets, opening a window for employees into a broad range of scientific disciplines and professions. Accel operates factories in Connecticut and Indiana, and recently opened a fourth manufacturing facility in Port St. Lucie.
Various family members in different disciplines work at the company, Oh said.
“My question to them when we’re out to dinner is, ‘How’s it going with our family?’ And they said they understand they’re there for a purpose, and we work together.”
Cox Science Center on track to complete expansion by 2027
What was once a venture to create a stable future for the family has expanded into a business that also seeks to serve the community. Accel invites local high schoolers about to graduate, as well as young adults, to career workshops to introduce them to a range of careers, be it engineer or machinist or salesperson.
It’s this range of opportunities that helps drive Oh’s passion for making choices available to children in other science and technology careers, too.
What Oh especially likes about the Cox Science Center is its plan to join with universities so there is a “pathway of connection” between children who visit the center and find something that piques their interests, and a university offering a program in that field.
Oh said she’s determined to see the Cox Science Center’s vision through. She recently joined the board of directors and remains committed to pushing the expansion to completion.
Technology moves fast, and so do the backers of the Science Center’s expansion, set to be completed toward the end of 2027. So far, so good, Oh said. “They’re on schedule, which is huge in the development world,” she said.
Oh credits the teamwork approach among members of the local community to helping turn the science center’s ambitious goals into reality.
It’s a lesson that Oh said can carry over into everyone’s daily lives if people realize they have something to offer the next generation, whether it’s a retired teacher promoting tips for a successful classroom or a surfer sharing insights into conservation.
Simply put, Oh believes in a teamwork approach to life, “so you can see that your community grows … whatever that community is.”
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: ‘All hands on deck’: Why Cox Science Center’s Oh sees urgency in teaching kids about tech
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
