Between 2004 and 2010, more than 10,000 people, businesses, foundations and government grants helped Boston’s Museum of Science raise $150 million. The largest individual gift was $20M, with Raytheon and Genzyme being the biggest corporate givers.
These funds have helped build, among other things, the National Center for Technological Literacy (NCTL), the planetarium, a wind turbine lab, and a theater.
And at the Museum of Science’s annual Gala yesterday, it announced a new capital campaign to raise $250 million — the largest fundraising effort in the 180 years the museum has been around.
“We have made spectacular progress,” says Ioannis Miaoulis, the Museum of Science’s president and director. “Together with our benefactors and strategic partners we will realize our vision and reach the broadest possible audience with exciting programs, timely exhibits, and bold initiatives that attract and engage area residents as well as people around the world.”
The campaign will fund the Museum of Science’s plans to:
- Transform its exhibits and galleries to tell the story of the natural and designed worlds and their extraordinary connections (Green Wing highlighting the natural world and Blue Wing, the engineered one);
- Update and transform its public spaces and amenities, focusing on sustainable systems and materials without enlarging the Museum’s footprint;
- Champion the growing integration of engineering into curricula, forming partnerships with museums throughout the world enabling visitors to connect with their counterparts in other countries;
- Develop an expanded role for science centers worldwide as conveners of forums on critical issues that involve citizen discussion and deliberation to inform science and technology policy;
- Maximize use of technology to enhance the onsite and online educational experience with media-rich, personalized interactions.
The museum says more information will be available about the campaign and its goals this summer. Make sure to follow them on Twitter @museumofscience.
