Sci‑Port says $15,000 city grant helped draw nearly 12,000 visitors to natural histories exhibit

Diane Clark, executive director of Sci‑Port Discovery Center, told the Shreveport City Council that a $15,000 grant from the city funded a four‑week “natural histories” exhibition and a one‑day Bug Bazaar that drew nearly 12,000 visitors.

“We asked for 15,000. We spent almost 14,000,” Clark said, summarizing the project's direct costs. Clark said the exhibition produced almost 12,000 admissions overall, including about 2,600 Caddo Parish residents and roughly 3,800 field‑trip visitors.

Clark told council members the center collected in excess of $207,000 in general admissions during the exhibition period and that an event impact calculator provided a total return on investment of approximately $42,000. She described exhibit elements — signage, live collections that now include a Goliath bird‑eater tarantula, an emperor scorpion and a bearded dragon — and said the Bug Bazaar featured animal encounters and a scavenger hunt for children.

The presentation also noted a promotional strategy that reduced general admission from $15 to $10 for the event and offered a $5 IMAX ticket for a meet‑and‑greet with Coyote Peterson, which Clark said sold out. Clark said the Bug Bazaar brought guests from Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and at least one registration from Illinois.

Clark closed by thanking the council for the grant support and invited questions; none were asked during the meeting.

The council accepted the report as part of the meeting’s awards and recognitions segment. The next procedural step is no further action required unless council requests additional funding or follow‑up from Sci‑Port.