Visitors of the Space Foundation Discovery Center will soon get to experience firsthand even more “cutting-edge” technologies shaping the future of space exploration.

The Colorado Springs-based nonprofit on Wednesday announced a $3 million expansion and renovation of its Discovery Center, a space, science and technology center designed to build interest in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics among schoolchildren. 

The foundation said in a news release that it aims to “rejuvenate” both the learning area’s facilities, such as electrical systems and flooring, as well as exhibit offerings.

“The upgrades and expansion will continue to serve as an energizing hub for space education and innovation, as well as offer new avenues for learning and discovery,” Space Foundation CEO Heather Pringle said in the release. “We are confident that the public will be excited by this renovation and the Discovery Center will leave an even larger impact on our community, inspiring the generations of today and tomorrow by finding their place with space.”

According to Rich Cooper, vice president of strategic communications and outreach for the foundation, details on the new exhibit features are still under wraps, but the center will include new hands-on labs where guests can interact with emerging innovations in space science.

In an interview with The Gazette in April, former Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor hinted at two potential new labs, the Drone Zone and the Fab Lab, which would be focused on 3D printing.

Cooper told The Gazette those decisions are still “under active discussion,” but will be revealed in coming months.

“Those will allow people of all ages to be able to put their hands on technologies that are shaping life today and will transform lives in the future,” Cooper said.

Other existing features will be redesigned, including the Mars Robotics Laboratory and the Science on a Sphere system, in which computers and video projectors display planetary data and other images on a six-foot-diameter sphere reminiscent of a giant animated globe.

Construction is expected to begin Nov. 19 and last until early spring, the foundation said.

The Discovery Center will be closed during that time, but education won’t stop there. The center will continue outreach through events and other learning opportunities in the community, Cooper said.

“It’s an exciting time for us to be able to go to libraries, schools and other places and take the story of discovery on the road,” he said.

Updates on the renovation and schedules and venues for those outreach programs can be found on the Discovery Center’s website at https://discoverspace.org/.