The $30 million Outdoor Education Center, a sprawling 210-acre spread above Irvine Regional Park, has received a $10 million donation that will speed its completion and assure a grand opening in July.

The Boy Scouts of America, which is building the facility, won’t say who provided the donation, or even whether it came from more than one person. But the $10 million, secured in December, will allow completion of a junior olympic swimming pool in the aquatic center, as well as an adult training center and a dining hall. (Science center shown; photo courtesy Donna St. Jean Conti.)

The center, open to recognized children’s groups but not individual bookings, contains a paradise of activities for high-energy kids: zip lines, a mock-up mine shaft where you can dig for minerals and load them on a moving ore car; day camps as well as overnight stays. It is adjacent to thousands of acres of Irvine Co. open space ripe for exploration.

The donation gets the center to $27 million, within 82 percent of its goal of $33 million, said spokeswoman Donna St. Jean Conti.

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