CHRYSTAL MCCONNELL /Arizona Daily Wildcat Undecided freshman Rebecca Goldstein and education senior Adam Davi man the counter at Flandrau Science Center.

With the future of the Flandrau Science Center now resting on the shoulders of the City of Tucson, its survival is uncertain.

When President Pete Likins and Provost George Davis announced last week that 16 programs will face mergers or elimination as part of the first phase of Focused Excellence, many of those involved in the programs were shocked. Flandrau, however, has seen this day coming for the past three years.

After voters passed Proposition 400 in 1999, which promotes tourism, the Rio Nuevo downtown revitalization project has hoped to incorporate Flandrau as part of downtown Tucson's future.

Flandrau currently depends on $175,000 from the College of Science, which it would lose as part of the elimination and restructuring process.

However, if a move downtown is found to be financially sound, Rio Nuevo would offer financial support to Flandrau, which, along with $540,000 in state funding and private contributions, would allow Flandrau to stay afloat.

Flandrau recently received a $250,000 grant from Rio Nuevo to assess its financial feasibility in downtown's future.

In the meantime, however, as the center sits on the list of programs for elimination, Flandrau officials are worried.

"I would say there are still some serious concerns," said Rob Vugteveen, outreach director for Flandrau. "There are still a number of hurdles to overcome."

According to Likins' proposal, if the science center does not become a part of the Rio Nuevo project, its budget will be reduced by $543,000 and it will no longer report to the College of Science, but instead fall under the supervision of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies "to recognize its university-wide functions and to administratively locate it with other university museums."

Additionally, if Flandrau does not join Rio Nuevo, it must submit a reorganization proposal to dodge program elimination.

Vugteveen said, however, that Flandrau is not considering any other future outside of Rio Nuevo, meaning that if Rio Nuevo does not find the center financially viable, it may close its doors after 27 years as one of Tucson's major science attractions.

Since it opened in December of 1975, Flandrau has been a popular field trip destination for local schools.

"There probably isn't a school district in town that doesn't come to Flandrau," said Vugteveen. "We have developed a history in Tucson. We are part of the fabric of Tucson."

Over the years, Tucsonans have also developed many memories of their visits to the science center.

"I remember going there when I was a kid on school field trips. It would be really sad to see it close down," said sophomore of computer engineering Merissa Winnicki.

"When I was in high school we used to hang out there, and if the telescope was up we would look at the stars," said city councilman Fred Ronstadt.

However, Ronstadt said that fond memories alone will not be enough to ensure the survival of Flandrau or a future in Rio Nuevo.

"We are not going to work on any project that doesn't pencil out as sustainable," Ronstadt said.

The center's current location, with its limited parking and access, has been attributed to the center's dwindling attendance in the recent past, but Flandrau supporters hope relocating downtown would boost attendance and allow Flandrau to continue to grow and offer more to the Tucson community.

Vugteveen said that a permanent home in downtown Tucson would allow Flandrau to offer more programs and expand their capabilities as an informal science center.

Rio Nuevo board member Jon Jones said three years of discussion on its potential move and the $250,000 grant for the feasibility study prove that Rio Nuevo has serious interest in Flandrau's future downtown, but he added that they aren't far enough along in the feasibility study to say for certain if Flandrau will survive.

Jones holds that losing funding from the College of Science was a setback for Flandrau.

"I think it raises the bar a notch but it doesn't count them out," Jones said. "We expect that the Flandrau is also going to be expected to bring some money to the table."