The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History will include new exhibition and learning spaces to enhance public understanding of science and support education in STEM fields. The $340 million project is designed to connect existing and new galleries, collections, and resources to highlight links across scientific disciplines and place educational experiences within current scientific practice. It will expand access to the Museum's resources for students, teachers, and families while inviting all visitors to experience discovery.
The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History will include new exhibition and learning spaces to enhance public understanding of science and support education in STEM fields. The $340 million project is designed to connect existing and new galleries, collections, and resources to highlight links across scientific disciplines and place educational experiences within current scientific practice. It will expand access to the Museum's resources for students, teachers, and families while inviting all visitors to experience discovery.
The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History will include new exhibition and learning spaces to enhance public understanding of science and support education in STEM fields. The $340 million project is designed to connect existing and new galleries, collections, and resources to highlight links across scientific disciplines and place educational experiences within current scientific practice. It will expand access to the Museum's resources for students, teachers, and families while inviting all visitors to experience discovery.
Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation
FACT SHEET
Overview The Need
The new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Science is at the core of the most pressing issues Education, and Innovation will invite visitors of the dayhuman health, climate change, and biodiversity conservation, among others. There to experience the Museum not only as a place is an urgent need to enhance the public of public exhibitions but as an active scientific understanding of science and to provide and educational institution. educational experiences that support informed engagement with these topics. The Gilder Center will include new exhibition and learning spaces with state-of-the-art There is an equally critical need to address technology and access to the Museums world- challenges in STEM (science, technology, class collections. It will also expand access to a engineering, and math) education. The broader range of the Museums resources for Gilder Center will expand the reach and deepen the impact of the Museums work students, teachers, and families, offering new in science education, building on a strong learning opportunities and inviting all visitors foundation of successful programs such to share in the excitement of discovery. as Urban Advantage, the Master of Arts in Teaching Program, and the Science Research Project Cost Mentoring Program, which already serve teachers and students throughout New York The project cost is estimated to be $340 City, New York State, and beyond. million. The building is named for Museum Trustee Richard Gilder in recognition of his The Gilder Center will make physical and lifetime giving to the Museum, which includes programmatic connections among existing and a new lead gift for the building. new galleries, classrooms, collections, and library resources to highlight links across Project Information scientific disciplines and to place educational experiences within current scientific practice. More information about the project is available at amnh.org/GilderCenter Over the last several decades, annual Museum attendance has grown from approximately Contact us with questions: three million to approximately five million. To GilderCenter@amnh.org accommodate this growth, the proposed design 212-769-5246 includes links to 10 Museum buildings through approximately 30 connections, vastly improving visitor circulation and experience.
amnh.org/GilderCenter Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation
FACT SHEET
Design Process and Timeline
The Gilder Center is designed by Jeanne Gang of In April 2016, the New York City Department of Studio Gang Architects. Ralph Appelbaum of Parks and Recreation, as lead agency, conducted Ralph Appelbaum Associates is designing the a City Environmental Quality Review public exhibition experiences, and the landscape scoping meeting. architect is Reed Hilderbrand. In July and September 2016, the Museum held Approximately 80 percent of the 245,000-gross- public informational meetings about the project. square-foot project will be located within the area currently occupied by the Museum. Three On October 5, 2016, Manhattans Community existing Museum buildings will be removed to Board 7 (CB7) approved the architectural design minimize the Gilder Center footprint in Theodore for the Gilder Center and landscape design for the adjacent part of Theodore Roosevelt Park. Roosevelt Park to about 11,600 square feet (approximately a quarter acre). On October 11, 2016, Landmarks Preservation Commission evaluated the appropriateness In June 2016, the Museum revised the original of the projects architecture and design, and concept design proposal, to be submitted to the changes to the adjacent park, and unanimously New York City Department of Parks and approved the application. Recreation, for the area of the park in front of the Gilder Center, the below-grade service area, and On May 18, 2017, the New York City Department the service driveway with the goal of preserving of Parks and Recreation issued the draft two notable trees. The revised proposal, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). developed with the Park Working Group formed to advise on the parks design, reduces the On June 15, 2017, the New York City Department number of trees removed from the Park to 7 and of Parks and Recreation held a public hearing to expands areas for play and respite to maintain receive comments on the draft EIS. Written the parks essential character and existing uses. comments were accepted by NYC Parks through June 26, 2017. For the Columbus Avenue faade, the design team has selected Milford pink granite, the stone On November 15, 2017, New York City used on the Central Park West faade, or granite Department of Parks and Recreationissued the similar in color and character. final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).