February 1, 2006

Carnegie Museum of Natural History announces gift
from the R.P. Simmons Family Fund
Gift to endow the Special Exhibits Gallery

Pittsburgh ... Carnegie Museum of Natural History announced that the R.P. Simmons Family Fund has given the museum a gift of $5 million to endow the museum's Special Exhibits Gallery. The gift will help pay for special traveling natural history exhibits as well as support the maintenance of the hall, which will be renamed in a special ceremony this spring.

"Carnegie Museum of Natural History is, without a doubt, one of Pittsburgh's great treasures," said Dick Simmons. "Through exhibits, education programs, and research, the museum has-for more than a century-taught us all so much about our world. And my family and I are so pleased to be able to play a part in ensuring that the museum will be able to continue fulfilling its mission for many years to come."

The Special Exhibits Gallery opened in May 2003. Since then, the museum has brought a number of internationally recognized traveling exhibits to Pittsburgh, including Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas and The Mysterious Bog People. Special exhibitions present the most up-to-date discoveries and interpretations of the scientific and cultural issues in the world today. They are a natural complement to the museum's permanent exhibits and are an essential component of its educational mission.

"This very generous gift will allow us to continue to bring many of the world's finest traveling exhibits to Pittsburgh," said Dr. Bill DeWalt, director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. "It was part of Andrew Carnegie's dream to bring the world's great wonders and treasures to Pittsburgh. This gallery is an extension of his vision. Visitors from this region and beyond have enjoyed Incan treasures, bog mummies from Europe, the wonderful photographs of Don Robinson, and the magnificent sculptures of Alan Houser. The Simmons' family gift will allow us to continue to bring to Pittsburgh the finest natural history traveling exhibits."

"We thank Dick Simmons and his family for their generosity and, most importantly, for their vision," said Dr. David Hillenbrand, president of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. "It is a great credit to them that they understand the extensive reach of Carnegie Museum of Natural History worldwide, and the wonderful potential of this Special Exhibits Gallery to educate and inspire."

Located on the third floor of the museum, the 8,000-square-foot exhibit area meets the strict space and climate control requirements for the museum to bring in major traveling exhibits as well as smaller, environmentally and climate sensitive exhibits. The gallery is equipped to handle robotic exhibits, and is wired to provide power for electronics such as computers and video equipment that often accompany traveling exhibits. It is also climate-controlled, a requirement for exhibits that contain artifacts that can be damaged when exposed to humidity and temperature fluctuations.

Upcoming exhibits in the Special Exhibits Gallery are Wild at Heart, opening March 4, and Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches, opening September 2.

"With the endowment of this gallery and the coming Dinosaurs in Their World project, Carnegie Museum of Natural History has insured that it will continue to draw visitors from Pittsburgh and around the world to this great region," said Dr. DeWalt.

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