Business proposes science center
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff writer
20,000-square-foot facility could be built within 18 months
POST FALLS -- Lorna Finman plans to take her mission of creating a world where young people dream of becoming science heroes to another level.
Finman owns LCF Enterprises who with her husband, Paul. A growing Post Falls firm that designs and manufactures power amplifiers for military and commercial applications, LCF Enterprises plans to have a nonprofit science discovery center built in the area.
It will be called the North Idaho Discovery Association (NIDA) Science Center for Youth. NIDA is an existing nonprofit founded by the Finmans.
"The whole idea is to give kids opportunities in science and technology," she said.
"Schools have been supportive of NIDA with open arms and have been generous to allow us to use their facilities for free for summer camps."
She said the program has grown so much it requires a year-round facility.
The Finmans own 20 acres on Diagonal Road near Lakeland High School in Rathdrum, which Lorna said is an optional site for the center.
Another option is on the Rathdrum Prairie -- the preferred site for its central location.
She said she'd like to find property for $10,000 to $15,000 and is prepared to spend about $1.5 million on the building. Preliminary conceptual plans call for a 20,000-square foot, single-story building with eight acres of parking for a 20-acre site. The site could include a soccer field.
Finman has hired an architect and had a preliminary meeting with Kootenai County planners.
The facility could be built in a year to 18 months.
"I'm moving full-speed ahead," she said.
Karlicia Berry, a Post Falls elementary teacher and NIDA's robotics coordinator, said the center will open opportunities for students wanting to explore science.
"This will be a place to bring in experts to expose kids to the latest technology," Berry said. "Paul and Lorna have such a heart for children. They've become very successful in their business and they want to give back to the community. They are proud to be Idahoans and believe our students can compete with others across the country."
Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin said Finman talked to him about the project during the annual Jobs Plus meeting Tuesday. The possibilities with the project are endless, he said.
"For a long time, we've been wanting an aquifer interpretive center," he said. "That's something that could tie into this. This is the type of facility that could bring people in from a long ways away."
Finman said the science center would serve teachers and students in all grades and be available for training, classes, camps and "other cool science things" ranging from robotics to microbiology.
It would be similar to a science center in Boise, she said.
The Finmans both have doctorate degrees -- Paul in electrical engineering and Lorna in physics -- from Stanford. They started an incubator business in the Los Angeles area before being recruited to Post Falls by Jobs Plus in 1999. Paul is also a Kellogg High graduate, so the couple also wanted to return to his roots.
Their business operated in two buildings between Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene before it added a 35,000-square-foot facility last year near Buck Knives. It employs 20 and contracts work to support businesses.
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