Photo: Joshua FranzosEvery year at this time, parents and guardians across the region think about sending their children to summer camps. At Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, Kamin Science Center, and Powdermill Nature Reserve, we look forward to the weeks when campers return to spend their days exploring our spaces, creating and questioning, and making lifelong connections along the way.
A story in this issue features the recollections of four summer camp alumni who have much to say about what they gleaned from their experiences. One remembers arriving at a place of learning that at last felt welcoming and safe. Two went on to become camp educators themselves. Three attribute their choices of career goals to the time they spent with us; two eventually joined our museum staff. And they all speak of the lifelong connections they formed at Carnegie Museums.
The freedom to explore and to become curious, engaged, and thoughtful people is something we strive to foster through a myriad of programs, many of which the public at large never sees. They include the annual Science and Engineering Fair at Kamin Science Center, The Warhol Academy’s workforce development classes in digital marketing, the esteemed Saturday art classes at Carnegie Museum of Art, and Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Museum on the Move, which has been providing hands-on experiences to children with disabilities in classroom, hospital, and community settings for forty years.
An article in this issue offers another example: last December’s Youth Fashion Show at The Andy Warhol Museum, where teens modeled garments they made from repurposed materials over weeks of experimentation. This annual show is a product of The Warhol’s youth fashion workshop series, which has been engaging teens for two decades.
Also profiled in this issue is Lucy Stewart, senior manager of lifelong learning at Carnegie Museum of Art. An alumna of the Saturday art classes, Lucy went on to build a decades-long career at the Museum of Art, most recently as the creator of Mindful Museum. Hundreds of seniors attend the Wednesday morning program each week. Many report making surprising connections—with art, with the museum, and with each other. Still more evidence that it’s never too late—or too early—to explore something new at Carnegie Museums and connect with others in ways you had not imagined.
With best regards,
Steven Knapp
President and Chief Executive Officer
Carnegie Museums
