MIAMI—It doesn't quite look like a museum yet, but after a year of building there is clear progress at what will soon become the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. More than 75% of the plaza deck is poured. Supports for the first level of the Gulfstream aquarium are installed. The lower half of the planetarium structure is complete. And excitement is building.

The museum's debut in 2015 will mark the capstone of Downtown Miami's new Museum Park complex, serving as a cultural destination and economic engine in the city's urban core. So far, about 13,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured. That's enough to fill the area of a football field almost 10 feet high.

The museum has secured more than $70 million in pledges of its $100 million private fundraising goal, which will complement Miami-Dade County's $165 million funding. Miami Science Museum CEO Gillian Thomas says, “Once completed and open to the public, our new building will have an even greater community impact, serving as a center for learning and innovation, a model for sustainability, an economic engine, a gathering place for Miami residents and visitors, and an architectural icon for our city.”