A robotics lab program for children is expected to be built for the Powerhouse Science Center by summer.

AT&T, which will announce a $25,000 donation Tuesday, is joining Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Otto Construction and Sacramento City Councilmember Sandy Sheedy to create a portable lab that will be set up at the Discovery Museum.

The program will be transferred to the new science center, which is expected to open in about three years. This is the first program for the center to be fully funded, said Beth Callahan, director of development and marketing for the Discovery Museum.

"We are on track," she said.

A capital campaign is under way to build a science museum on a four-acre campus centered around the long-vacant Pacific Gas & Electric power station, north of Old Sacramento. Plans also call for a planetarium, river-view restaurants, conference center and small amphitheater within Robert T. Matsui Waterfront Park.

Since late October, the campaign has raised $150,000 in preconstruction seed money — part of $1.7 million to date — and gotten substantial in-kind commitments from founding partners, Callahan said. Donors have committed to provide materials and labor.

Ground preparation is expected to begin Jan. 9 and installation of the lab should follow the next week. School groups are expected to be able to use the lab by late summer. Up to 40 students will be able to use the lab at a time.

Photo by Jonathan Mendick.