The Museum of Science & History will seek $80 million in public, private and community funding to renovate and expand its 50-year-old campus on Jacksonville's Southbank.

MOSH President Maria Hane said the plan would boost the museum’s total space from 77,000 to 120,000 square feet, expand educational programming, reorient its public entry and inner focus toward the adjacent St. Johns River, incorporate an innovation component and add "new and emerging technology."

"Northeast Florida deserves a world-class destination where lifelong learning is celebrated and energized," she said Friday. "As a fixture on the Southbank … MOSH is in a perfect position to transform our riverfront with an iconic campus where science, culture and innovation come together. Our plans will support downtown development, bolster regional tourism and allow our children to develop the skills to succeed in the modern, 21st-century workforce."

Parvez Ahmed, chairman of the museum's board of trustees, said the new MOSH will fill a gap in downtown Jacksonville. Other cities Jacksonville aspires to be like have "an iconic cultural institution that anchors downtown," he said.

In January the museum launched a capital campaign called "MOSH 2.0: Expanding the Capacity to Inspire Innovation." MOSH leaders will seek funding from a combination of sources, as much as $60 million from city, state and federal governments and $20 million from individuals, businesses and corporations and foundations.

City officials have been informed of the plan, said Brian Hughes, Mayor Lenny Curry‘s chief of staff.

"Until financing is achieved, it seems aspirational. But having an ambitious plan to grow is commendable," he said. "We look forward to learning more.”

The proposed improvements would increase exhibition areas by 200 percent and include a cafe, rooftop conference center, event space, innovation labs and interactive displays such as a walk-through simulated aquifer system and self-curated exhibits about such topics as civil rights history and the Native American population. Indoor and outdoor settings will be integrated to create a "seamless campus experience" between the museum and adjacent Friendship Fountain, the Southbank Riverwalk and the river.

The river and related ecosystems are "part of Jacksonville's DNA," Hane said. "It's part of our quality of life and health."

St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman lauded how the plan "embraces Jacksonville’s greatest natural asset."

"MOSH’s new upgrade will not only provide a better view, but will also offer guests a hands-on experience to better understand and to better protect our 310-mile river, our freshwater springs and the Floridan Aquifer that is critical to our river’s health and provides our drinking water," she said. "The more we value Florida’s waters, the more we will do to protect them."

Another key part of the new museum will be expanded science- and engineering-oriented, or STEM, programming for area students. The museum currently serves students in Baker, Clay, Duval, Putnam and St. Johns counties through programs on site and in the classroom.

"Science is cool right now," Hane said.

Combined, the proposed changes are expected to at least double the number of people the museum can serve — at the Southbank site and in schools of other locations — annually from about 229,000 in 2017 to an estimated 468,000 by 2023, according to the museum.

The "MOSH 2.0" concepts were developed through a series of independent studies over the past six years that, according to the museum, showed "a high degree of consensus for large-scale improvements." Museum leaders then incorporated feedback from at least 250 people, including donors, businesses and corporations, foundations, community leaders and elected officials.

"The project reflects an almost unprecedented level of conversation with members of the community," Ahmed said. "Even the scale of the project reflects that. … Probably many of us wanted to go bigger."

Hane said she envisions beginning construction in two to three years and opening the new MOSH in 2023. Museum leaders have been "flirting" for years with the idea of a major upgrade, she said, and are now determined to push ahead.

"You have to have an unquestioned commitment and conviction," she said.

Beth Reese Cravey: (904) 359-4109