Museum Plan Marks Queen Mary's 80th Birthday
LONG BEACH (AP) — On the Queen Mary's 80th birthday on Friday, officials announced ambitious plans to create a 65,000-square-foot museum and science center aboard the ocean liner in Long Beach Harbor.
The ship's general manager, John Jenkins, said the idea to create the learning center with the Long Beach and Los Angeles unified school districts is still in the early stages and there is a lot of fundraising and planning to do.
The Long Beach Press Telegram reports officials announced the idea during a daylong birthday celebration, which included a congratulatory message from Queen Elizabeth II and the cutting of a 15-foot-long replica cake of the vessel.
Built in Scotland in the 1930s, the Queen Mary made Long Beach its permanent home in 1967. The ship has a hotel offering 314 rooms.
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