NORTH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY & SCIENCE ANNOUNCES MAJOR RENOVATION AND NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART PLANETARIUM

NORTH MUSEUM ANNOUNCES MAJOR RENOVATION AND NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART PLANETARIUM

JUNE 16, 2014 – This morning the North Museum of Natural History & Science announced the launch of its 60th Anniversary Campaign, "We're Looking for a Few Bright Stars." The $3.5 million dollar campaign, Chaired by Paul W. Ware and Carrie Nunan Hill, will provide funding for the renovation and reinvention of the North Museum. The project represents an essential investment in the Museum's ability to continue to serve as a center of excellence and engagement in science education.  This is its first capital campaign since 1984. The Museum has raised $2.35 million dollars to date, which includes a $750,000 RACP grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  “As a community, we now have the honor and the duty to reinvent and renew the North Museum. When we succeed, we will be making a long-term gift to our children, our families, our schools, and those who visit Lancaster” said Hill, Campaign Co-Chair.

A new Full-dome Digital Theater, created by Spitz, Inc., the world's leading supplier of planetariums (and the Pennsylvania company that manufactured the Museum's original star ball), serves as the centerpiece of the Museum's capital campaign. The  SciDome Touch  XD digital system projects high definition video, animation, and images onto a 41-foot aluminum NanoSeam dome (a Spitz innovation for paneling domes to create a virtually new seamless projection surface). It will transform the North Museum planetarium into a science learning lab featuring comprehensive elementary-through-college curricula and award-winning teacher resources. The North Museum will be the first museum in the world to have a Spitz cove-mounted  SciDome Touch  XD system.  Additionally, the re-invented planetarium offers space for social gatherings accommodating up to 150 guests, which will enhance the Museum's appeal as a premier gathering space.

A new larger lobby will transform visitors' first impressions of the Museum, with an expanded gift shop and the addition of an ADA family restroom on the first floor. Another added feature will be direct entry into the theater for shows and events. Campaign Co-Chair Ware said, “I got involved in this project because the plans have been made thoughtfully and prudently – with the goal of increasing earned income and enhancing the Museum’s sustainability.”

A new Nature Explorer Gallery combines the Discovery Room and the Live Animal Room. The renovated first floor space will incorporate the glass-walled honeybee hive, live animals, assorted artifacts and hands-on activities, and flooring that help illustrate the topography of the Susquehanna River basin. Programs combining the Nature Explorer Gallery with the Full-dome Digital Theater will create a center for early childhood education, identified as an urgent need in Lancaster County. Ware stated, “It’s not just the North Museum that will benefit from these exciting renovations and technological upgrades. It will benefit the children who become inspired to pursue a career in one of the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math), where they will encounter a brighter future of higher wages and lower unemployment rates.”

The relocated Dinosaur Hall will introduce hands-on interactive components. Several new modular exhibits will expand visitors’ dinosaur experience into the adjacent temporary gallery when space permits.

While the majority of the renovations will be on the first floor of the Museum, several improvements will enhance the Cabinet Museum located on the lower level. New chairs, reference books, internet terminals, lighting, carpeting, and graphic panels will be added. New metal cabinets provide a state-of-the-art home for artifacts that illustrate the natural history and cultures of the Lower Susquehanna Region.

Margie Marino, Executive Director of the North Museum observed, “It’s uncommon for a community this size to have its own natural history and science museum. Lancaster owes its good fortune to the amateur naturalists of the 19th and 20th centuries who collected some of the Museum’s 300,000 objects preserving our natural heritage. This project will ensure that our children and grandchildren will have an even better North Museum experience than previous generations.”

 The North Museum was established in 1953 by Franklin & Marshall College and became an independent non-profit organization in 1992. The college supports the project and will contribute to essential infrastructure improvements including: a new entrance door, new roof and waterproofing, upgrades to the first floor electrical system, and the new ADA family restroom on the first floor.

Construction is planned to begin in October and will require closing the Museum for approximately three months. A temporary public presence will be established in a leased space in the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design building, at Water and Chestnut Streets. The “countdown” to the launch of the reinvented North Museum will begin on December 1, 2014.

Hill asked those who are considering a gift to the Campaign “to please join us in making this a reality. A reinvented and renewed North Museum will enrich our lives and the lives of generations to come.”

About the North Museum of Natural History & Science

The North Museum of Natural History & Science is located at 400 College Avenue in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Museum is open Monday-Saturday: 10 am-5 pm, and on Sunday from Noon-5 pm. Admission for the North Museum is free for Members, $7.50 for adults, $6.50 for juniors (ages 3-17) and seniors (65 and over). Planetarium shows are an additional $2.50 to the price of admission. The Museum is free for children under three. For more information, call 717-291-3941 or visit www.northmuseum.org.

NORTH MUSEUM ANNOUNCES MAJOR RENOVATION AND NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART PLANETARIUM

JUNE 16, 2014 – This morning the North Museum of Natural History & Science announced the launch of its 60th Anniversary Campaign, "We're Looking for a Few Bright Stars." The $3.5 million dollar campaign, Chaired by Paul W. Ware and Carrie Nunan Hill, will provide funding for the renovation and reinvention of the North Museum. The project represents an essential investment in the Museum's ability to continue to serve as a center of excellence and engagement in science education.  This is its first capital campaign since 1984. The Museum has raised $2.35 million dollars to date, which includes a $750,000 RACP grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  “As a community, we now have the honor and the duty to reinvent and renew the North Museum. When we succeed, we will be making a long-term gift to our children, our families, our schools, and those who visit Lancaster” said Hill, Campaign Co-Chair.

A new Full-dome Digital Theater, created by Spitz, Inc., the world's leading supplier of planetariums (and the Pennsylvania company that manufactured the Museum's original star ball), serves as the centerpiece of the Museum's capital campaign. The  SciDome Touch  XD digital system projects high definition video, animation, and images onto a 41-foot aluminum NanoSeam dome (a Spitz innovation for paneling domes to create a virtually new seamless projection surface). It will transform the North Museum planetarium into a science learning lab featuring comprehensive elementary-through-college curricula and award-winning teacher resources. The North Museum will be the first museum in the world to have a Spitz cove-mounted  SciDome Touch  XD system.  Additionally, the re-invented planetarium offers space for social gatherings accommodating up to 150 guests, which will enhance the Museum's appeal as a premier gathering space.

A new larger lobby will transform visitors' first impressions of the Museum, with an expanded gift shop and the addition of an ADA family restroom on the first floor. Another added feature will be direct entry into the theater for shows and events. Campaign Co-Chair Ware said, “I got involved in this project because the plans have been made thoughtfully and prudently – with the goal of increasing earned income and enhancing the Museum’s sustainability.”

A new Nature Explorer Gallery combines the Discovery Room and the Live Animal Room. The renovated first floor space will incorporate the glass-walled honeybee hive, live animals, assorted artifacts and hands-on activities, and flooring that help illustrate the topography of the Susquehanna River basin. Programs combining the Nature Explorer Gallery with the Full-dome Digital Theater will create a center for early childhood education, identified as an urgent need in Lancaster County. Ware stated, “It’s not just the North Museum that will benefit from these exciting renovations and technological upgrades. It will benefit the children who become inspired to pursue a career in one of the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math), where they will encounter a brighter future of higher wages and lower unemployment rates.”

The relocated Dinosaur Hall will introduce hands-on interactive components. Several new modular exhibits will expand visitors’ dinosaur experience into the adjacent temporary gallery when space permits.

While the majority of the renovations will be on the first floor of the Museum, several improvements will enhance the Cabinet Museum located on the lower level. New chairs, reference books, internet terminals, lighting, carpeting, and graphic panels will be added. New metal cabinets provide a state-of-the-art home for artifacts that illustrate the natural history and cultures of the Lower Susquehanna Region.

Margie Marino, Executive Director of the North Museum observed, “It’s uncommon for a community this size to have its own natural history and science museum. Lancaster owes its good fortune to the amateur naturalists of the 19th and 20th centuries who collected some of the Museum’s 300,000 objects preserving our natural heritage. This project will ensure that our children and grandchildren will have an even better North Museum experience than previous generations.”

 The North Museum was established in 1953 by Franklin & Marshall College and became an independent non-profit organization in 1992. The college supports the project and will contribute to essential infrastructure improvements including: a new entrance door, new roof and waterproofing, upgrades to the first floor electrical system, and the new ADA family restroom on the first floor.

Construction is planned to begin in October and will require closing the Museum for approximately three months. A temporary public presence will be established in a leased space in the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design building, at Water and Chestnut Streets. The “countdown” to the launch of the reinvented North Museum will begin on December 1, 2014.

Hill asked those who are considering a gift to the Campaign “to please join us in making this a reality. A reinvented and renewed North Museum will enrich our lives and the lives of generations to come.”

About the North Museum of Natural History & Science

The North Museum of Natural History & Science is located at 400 College Avenue in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Museum is open Monday-Saturday: 10 am-5 pm, and on Sunday from Noon-5 pm. Admission for the North Museum is free for Members, $7.50 for adults, $6.50 for juniors (ages 3-17) and seniors (65 and over). Planetarium shows are an additional $2.50 to the price of admission. The Museum is free for children under three. For more information, call 717-291-3941 or visit www.northmuseum.org.

Price: N/A