Science Central Inc.

“The director of finance will be primarily responsible for facilitating the preparation of the irs form 990 (hereinafter "form 990") in compliance with irs regulations. He/she will work to provide information to the outside auditors for the preparation of the form 990. In advance of the filing deadline, once the form 990 has been completed, it will be submitted to the finance committee for review. After the finance committee has approved the form 990, it will be presented to the executive committee. Once the executive committee has approved it, it will be presented to the full board for review and approval prior to submission to the irs. At each level of review, the copies of the form 990 may be transmitted in either paper or electronic copy.”

“Conflicts of interest must be reported immediately; disclosure of conflicts of interest is an essential and ongoing obligation for board members in the course of their duties. If a conflict of interest is identified, it should be discussed with the president and chairman of the board to identify the proper course of remedial action. These actions may range from recusal in any business transactions involving science central or the other interested organization to withdrawing from involvement in the other organization's business or board of directors to other actions that assure the conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict of interest may be avoided.”

“Science central's executive committee reviews and establishes (or makes a recommendation to the full board for approval) executive compensation on an annual basis, usually in the first month of the fiscal year, based on the following factors: a. Achievement of goals and objectives as established by the executive committee, either through the establishment of such goals and objectives on an annual basis and/or successful implementation of a board approved strategic plan during the just concluded fiscal year. B. A survey of executive compensation for not-for-profit executive directors/presidents in the fort wayne, allen county and northeast indiana area, as such information is available c. Availability of funding as determined during preparation of the fiscal year's budget and approved by the executive committee or full board of directors.”

“The organization's irs form 990 for the prior three years is available at www.guidestar.org. The organizations 990 is also available at irs.gov.”

“Governing documents, policies and financial statements are available upon request.”

“Increasing public willingness to attend events outside of the home allowed science central to successfully host several new and unique events over the course of the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Some of these events included world architecture day, chemistry day, and mad science day, which was hosted in partnership with the downtown improvement district's annual fright night event. We were also able to provide hands-on science activities outside of our facility at events like taste of the arts, the history center's festival of gingerbread, and world rivers day, held at promenade park. Special events at our center and at other community locations help lead new audiences with a wide range of interests to discover the wonder of stem and, in the case of events like world rivers day, allow us to showcase particular stem topics in depth. Over the course of the year, we were also able to present the community with three temporary exhibitions. The first, "going viral," helped visitors learn about the nature of viruses and how pandemics spread. The second, "outreach to space," used several hands-on, interactive stations to educat visitors about how humans travel to space, what is needed to survive in space, and what the future of space exploration may hold. The third, "our weakening web," used realistic dioramas and interactive stations to teach visitors about natural extinctions and the relationships between the many organisms that make up ecosystems. Science central added several new and exciting exhibits in the 2021-2022 fiscal year. These included "make-it die cut," in which visitors learn about the manufacturing technique of die cutting by using a metal die to cut a piece of paper into a shape that can be folded into a box, which visitors can then take with them. This popular exhibit encourages visitors to consider the stem aspects of manufacturing, which is important in indiana, where manufacturing is economically significant. Another new exhibit is the "wind lab." at this exhibit, visitors can put different shaped blades on model wind turbines to see how these changes affect the amount of power produced by the turbine. This renewable energy exhibit is one of the ways science central engages visitors with stem topics relevant to the current era. The "pixel peg," located in our early learners' area, kids central, allows children to express themselves creatively as they experiment with color and light by inserting large, colorful, transparent pegs onto a light up board. For those familiar with the lite brite toy, this exhibit is like a giant version of it. Finally, our newest exhibit is the topography sandbox, which allows visitors to shape sand into landscapes, while a camera and projector above the sandbox projects different colors onto different heights of sand and shows how water would flow through the landscape. This exhibit can be used to demonstrate many earth science and geology concepts. All these new exhibits expand what visitors can learn at science central and encourage both new and repeat visitors to come and experience hands-on science in in fresh and interesting ways.”