In celebration of Port Wonder: Additional $500,000 donated to anticipated project
Published 7:36 am Wednesday, July 27, 2022
- A young visitor pours a liquid into a glass jar at Phillips 66 in Westlake event to celebrate the industrial plant’s $500,000 contribution to the upcoming Port Wonder. (Rick Hickman / American Press)
Phillips 66 employees and their children, Children’s Museum representatives, and Lake Charles officials gathered on Wednesday to celebrate Phillip 66’s $500,000 contribution to the greatly anticipated Port Wonder.
Port Wonder is an over $20 million lakefront development project that was first announced in 2018. This development will serve as an educational and entertaining space for families, local or visiting, to explore. It will be the new home for the Children’s Museum of Lake Charles.
Scot Tyler, Phillips 66 Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex General Manager, spoke on Phillips 66’s commitment to the local community. “Phillips 66 has been a partner in Southwest Louisiana for about 80 years, providing energy and improving lives,” he said. “This is just another step in that journey of where we are and how we see ourselves as part of the community.”
“We’re really excited about the opportunity we have to influence things in our community.”
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter explained that Port Wonder’s advancement would not be possible without the city’s partnership with Phillips 66. “In the very early stages when we were putting Port Wonder together, we knew that we didn’t want it to just be tax-payer and public dollars making this happen,” he stated. “Absolutely essential to that was the buy-in from private industry.”
“Phillips 66 has been an incredible community partner to the City of Lake Charles. Their financial support of Port Wonder will help ensure a world class attraction on our lakefront and a state-of-the-art educational experience for generations to come.”
Attendees were given a sneak peek of the details of Port Wonder by Allyson Montgomery, Director of Operations and Development for the Children’s Museum. “This is a facility that will not just be for children, but a place where families can come and interact with each other,” she said. “A children’s museum challenges you to use your imagination and to brainstorm and think… and you do that through almost every exhibit that you experience whenever you visit a children’s museum.”
The center will feature 4 themed educational sections, 3 classrooms, a ‘Maker Space’, a gift shop, and a wildlife and science area that highlights local fisheries. The 4 educational areas will be Technology, Health, City, and Nature. The City area will be a mock city with ‘businesses’ such as Cowboy’s Cafe, Sunny’s Market, Zydeco Hall, and Safety Square.
The technology area will have an educational exhibit sponsored by Phillips 66 and inspired by the work that is done at their refineries. Montgomery explained that children will get to dress up and simulate what it is like to work at refineries like Phillips 66.
“In the tech gallery, you will be able to explore STEM in a way that you can’t at home,” she said. “You can pretend and imagine that you are a chemist, engineer, and more.” Children will be able to do this through activities, such as the distillation tower and the density wheel.
“We are excited about our Port Wonder distillation exhibit that will stimulate curiosity and cultivate learning about the energy industry, a field that’s ever evolving,” said Tyler. “Our view is the world is going to continue to need energy and it’s going to continue to grow its energy needs and how we manufacture that, how we do it safer, and how we are more environmentally responsible.”
“We are going to be part of that solution long term.”
The children in attendance were able to participate in an experiment that simulated the distillation tower that will be featured in Port Wonder. This experiment was led by Phillips 66 employee Ashley Riddick.
Hunter stated that over the next few weeks and months, locals will finally begin to witness Port Wonder taking shape. This project began development before Lake Charles was struck by disasters. Hunter believes that Port Wonder has become a symbol for the resiliency of the community.
“Prior to the last tumultuous couple years we have been in, Port Wonder was about Lakefront development,” he said. “The fact that this project didn’t fall apart and we are still building this thing, that’s a testament to this community. It’s a testament to our corporate partners, and it’s a testament to the resilience of this community.”
The site work for Port Wonder, as well as the rehabilitation of the parking garage on the lakefront, are now underway.
