GULFCOAST WONDER AND IMAGINATION ZONE INC

Hello goforsrq. We are truly sorry you feel this way, and encourage you to visit or call. To clarify, if you donated since July of 2012, your funds are safe and sound in our local community foundation. Not one penny has been misappropriated. To repurpose GWIZ, it will require over 1 million dollars. As of this date, we only need around 300,000 more, and we appreciate the community stepping up and supporting us! If you believe otherwise, please come forward and talk to GWIZ. Our new CEO and new Board Chair insist on transparency, honesty, and straight talk. We can't fix any real or perceived problem unless we know who you are...and know we are trying to right many years of wrong.

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Broken promises, lies, and deception. My company's substantial donation disappeared into thin air. Board members lied to my face to get the money, then changed their story about how it was going to be used. You would be better off throwing money into a hole in the ground.

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Despite a new ED, the board still contains the individuals who ran G.WIZ into the ground. A highlight reel: lying to donors, presenting false financials to other board members, complete disregard for ethics and governance. Without a complete housecleaning, the organization will remain corrupt. Donors to the new revitalization campaign are throwing their money away.

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2 people found this review helpful

This is a House of Cards that is soon to collapse. Ms Demeulenaere lied about her Education, she does not have any college credits to her name and may not even have a GED. She lied about her experience and credentials and was able to con the Board and has used her position for personal gain at great expense to G Wiz. The museum had expenses of 1.5 million over a revenue of 750 K and all they spend on rent is one dollar a year. What did they spend all the money on, they did not even repair the shabby exhibits. Careful Audit may reveal the ultimate impact of Ms Demeulenaere deceit. Ms Demeulenaere is gone, she is now spreading her lies to our neighbors in Tampa at MOSI, there is no stopping her now.

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congratulations for the great job.I believe that when we create something new, you will be praised by others

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1 person found this review helpful

I used to volunteer here. Sarasota has an almost nonexistant tech community and the children there need a resource to get them interested in Science and technology. GWIZ is one of the few bright spots in that area for this purpose. This science museum is involved with the local schools, and is even more so now that they have a new Fab Lab. This is a fantastic place and it definitely deserves any help that can go to it. When I volunteered here I worked in their Fab Lab, and it gave me experience with exotic machinery like laser cutters that will benefit me for the rest of my life. These resources aren't available anywhere else for miles, so please support the tech community in Sarasota and help GWIZ and the Fab Lab.

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2 people found this review helpful

Donors beware. They are in big financial trouble. No current audits for a reason. Many staff have left or been fired. Many board members have left. Donations being used to pay debts and keep lights on, not for stated purpose. Positive reviews are from board members/staff trying to make illusion of community support.

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My husband and I take our grandchild here as often as we can. He just loves GWIZ. It is such a fun and educational place to spend an afternoon. There is so much to see and do and my husband and I enjoy ourselves too.

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Summer camp for my grandson was fun and educational. He had all of the fun with the enthusiastic and patient teachers and staff at GWIZ and I was delighted with the educational aspect. It opened his eyes to science in so many things that he has determined that "science is everywhere". I highly recommend any of the activities at GWIZ for all grandchildren. Grandparents who are interested in life-long learning, should accompany them and enjoy, also!

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THE G-WIZ MUSEUM HAS OPENED MY EYES TO THE WAY TO INTEREST
AND EDUCATE CHILDREN ABOUT SCIENCE. BY USING A HANDS ON
METHOD, THE CHILDREN MORE RAPIDLY UNDERSTAND THE PRINCIPLES
BEHIND THE SCIENCE. IT ALSO GIVES THEM A CHANCE TO EXPERIMENT
ON THEIR OWN, AND SEE WHY THINGS DON'T WORK. WE ALSO FIND
THAT THIS SYSTEM WORKS WITH OLDER TEENAGERS, AS THEY CAN
USE THEIR IMAGINATION TO SET UP AND TRY THEIR OWN EXPERIMENTS.
WE NOW HAVE A "FAB LAB" WHERE THE OLDER CHILDREN CAN BUILD
EXPERIMENTS WITH MACHINE TOOLS AND ELECTRONICS, OR EVEN
INVENTIONS OF THEIR OWN.

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