Work is progressing on the expansion of the Greensboro Science Centre (GSC) in North Carolina, US, with a number of new additions scheduled to open in 2019 as part of the multi-million dollar project.

The centre, which comprises a museum, planetarium, zoo and aquarium is creating a number of new exhibits, while also renovating and extending its endangered species habitats.

Among the features due to open this year is the newly refurbished front entrance, which will debut with a specially commissioned artwork from local charity the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro’s Public Art Endowment fund.

Also opening this year, scheduled for Q3, is an expansion if the Komodo dragon outdoor exhibit. It will see the centre’s current male dragon being paired with a young female, with the necessary size adjustments to the area being made over the course of the next few months.

Another 2019 opener is the Science Advancement through Innovative Learning (SAIL) Centre, which will feature a multi-purpose events room. GSC acquired the former Greensboro Council of Garden Clubs building for the SAIL Centre, which handily sits adjacent to the front entrance.

Meanwhile, 2020 will see the opening of GSC’s renovated tiger exhibit, which will accommodate Malayan tigers; the opening of the Cole Family Butterfly House and Monarch Conservation Project, on which construction is to begin this year; and the opening of the major zoo expansion, Revolution Ridge, on which ground will also break this year.

The US$10m (€8.8m, £7.8m) Revolution Ridge expansion will feature both live and virtual exhibits, as well as breeding programmes for the zoo’s rare animals, with new exhibits showcasing cassowaries, okapi and pygmy hippos among other species.

The work is part of wider Greensboro scheme called Battleground Park District, which will combine GSC with Greensboro Country Park, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and Tannenbaum Historic Park into one 400-acre park destination for North Carolina.