Member Profile

Ms. Anne Evangelista from the South Hills became a member of Carnegie Museums in June 1998, when she learned that she could apply her admission fees toward a membership and realized membership is a good value. Since then, she and her husband and their two young children have visited the museums many times. Emily, age four, enjoys the Natural History Museum. She loves the bees and the bugs on the third floor, and really liked the exhibit Backyard Monsters. Aaron, at only eight months, looks at everything with great interest, and is gathering impressions that will make him a future museumgoer. The dinosaurs are one family favorite, especially since children can sit in the enormous dinosaur footprint. The kid-friendly atmosphere at the Science Center also attracts the family. Emily plays with the watertable and has been able to hold the live bugs. 

As a child Anne Evangelista had memorable experiences visiting the museums and library with her father, and she wants her own children to have the same enjoyment. The Evangelistas plan on regular visits to the museums in 1999, and with their combined family membership they can appreciate the full range of museum experiences.

Sisters’ Gifts Make A Difference

Through the years, Dr. Elizabeth Graf and her late sister, Sarah Graf, spent hundreds of hours enjoying Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. As director of elementary education for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Elizabeth oversaw the field trip programs through which countless schoolchildren visited the Oakland museums and Buhl Planetarium, now part of Carnegie Science Center. 

After Elizabeth retired from the school system, and Sarah retired from her job as assistant treasurer of Gooding Rubber Company, the sisters moved from Bellevue to Oakland and joined the volunteer force at Carnegie Museums—Sarah in the Museum of Art and Elizabeth in the Museum of Natural History. And when the time came to plan their estates, they both remembered Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. 

“Sarah and I have always loved the Carnegie Museums,” Elizabeth says. “In my position with the Pittsburgh Public Schools, I saw firsthand the wonderful work that the museums do with children. We felt that Carnegie Institute is a responsible, well-established charity that will make the best use of our gifts for the good of the community.” Sarah's gift was a bequest, and Elizabeth's is in the form of a charitable trust, but both help create and improve exhibits in Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 

When Sarah died last year, Carnegie Museums received a portion of her bequest, which was used to establish the Sarah F. and Elizabeth Graf Fund in the Carnegie Institute endowment. A portion of the income from the Fund will be spent each year for exhibits in Carnegie Museum of Natural History. When Elizabeth’s is received, it will be added to the Fund, which will grow and serve as permanent memorial to the philanthropy of these two sisters.