Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh has raised more than $161 million for its Building the Future campaign, the largest campaign in its 113 year history.
Among the numerous projects and programs to benefit is Dinosaurs in Their Time, the fabulous reinvention of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s famed dinosaur exhibits, which opened to the public in its first phase in November 2007. In addition, Powdermill Nature Reserve, a 2,200-acre biological field station in the Laurel Highlands, will be renovated as will the Sarah Scaife Galleries, home to Carnegie Museum of Art’s permanent collections.
Other beneficiaries include the expansion of Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems and the creation of its new Wertz Gallery: Gems and Jewelry; Buhl Digital Dome, the new high-definition, full-dome experience at Carnegie Science Center’s Buhl Planetarium and a program endowment to fund educational and exhibition programming at all four Carnegie Museums.
“Our campaign success was the result of a tremendous outpouring of support from a large and diverse community of supporters—6,900 individuals and organizations, to be exact,” says David Hillenbrand, president of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. “Thanks to so many contributions to endowment, our museums are better positioned than ever before to continue and expand their important work.”
Generous contributions were received from several sources, including $19.2 million from the Hillman Family, $16 million from The Heinz Endowments and $15 million from the Commonwealth of PA.
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: David Hillenbrand, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Image courtesy of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh