The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science has closed its doors for the first time in more than 50 years ahead of its US$275m (€212m, £168.5m) move to a new location in downtown Miami in early 2016.

The new three-storey, 250,000sq ft (32,225sq m) facility – currently under construction in a prominent location on the Miami waterfront alongside the city’s 40-acres Museum Park and Perez Art Museum Miami – broke ground in early 2012 and is set to be completed by the end of 2015. An architectural team led by London-based Grimshaw Architects worked on the design of the new museum, while Skanska USA is operating as construction manager and Hill International is overseeing the whole project.

A museum representative told AM2 that “every aspect of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science is designed to inspire the mind, engage the senses and stimulate the imagination,” with the goal of the museum being, throughout the entire museum, “to make visitors feel like they’re in the middle of it all.”

Structured around a ‘living core’ comprised of terrestrial and aquatic exhibits, featuring a 510,000 gallon aquarium, planetarium, the Baptist Health People & Science Gallery, hands-on exhibits and interactive digital technology, the Museum of Science is being touted as the “next generation” of science museum, incorporating advanced communications and energy-conservation technology, as well as a host of visitor-friendly features.