The Regan family.

Wrap Up a Carnegie Membership This Holiday Season! 

The holiday season is a great time to think about giving the gift of membership! A more valuable gift would be hard to find - just ask Mrs. Patrick Regan, a homeschool teacher of four children who receives a Science Center membership from her parents every year as a Christmas gift. She says, "Membership provides an educational benefit for my kids that’s a blast!" She plans on spending more time at to the Carnegie Museums in Oakland as well.

Their favorite activity at the Science Center is helping out in the Kitchen Theater. " I love the freedom our membership offers for short drop-in visits during the year," she says. "And we all really enjoy the benefit of visiting science centers all over the country." 

Wrap up a Carnegie Membership this season for someone special in your life! It comes complete with a gift card and bag, and a copy of CARNEGIE magazine. Stop by the membership desk in the museum lobbies, or call 622-3314.
 

Holiday Visits To Carnegie Museums 

Visiting Carnegie Museums during the holidays is a family tradition! Follow these tips to make the most of your experience:

• Bring along your member card. When you arrive, check the daily activities schedules for special exhibitions, tours and programs.
• Cut out the coupons that are on the cover of this magazine and enjoy a special 20% discount on most items in the museum stores during December.
• Visit late Saturday to avoid the crowds. Remember, Science Center members receive free parking after 4:00 pm on Saturdays.
• Plan ahead and make advance reservations when visiting the Science Center. Call 237-3432 between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm several days ahead of your planned visit for best results. Same-day reservations can not be guaranteed. 

Caroselli, a Pittsburgh attorney and founding partner of the firm Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan and Conboy LLC, became hooked on the museums as a young boy. Trolley car jaunts to Forbes Field from his home in North Braddock always included a stop at the Museum of Natural History. "Instead of watching the Pirate warm-ups at Forbes Field, I’d go to the museum," he recalls. Memories of exhibits that impressed him the most-the lion attacking the camel driver, Dinosaur Hall -- are still vivid. 

As an adult, getting involved in Carnegie Museums as a parent, member and volunteer was "easy and natural," says Caroselli. Today, he and his wife Carol, a business owner, enjoy a variety of museum events, and Bill serves on the Major Gifts Committee, which helps the institute increase financial support. Children Clay, 27, and Alyssa, 24, grew up on Carnegie Museums’ experiences as well. Alyssa, a painter who is working on a master’s in art therapy, was captivated by the Carnegie Internationals. Clay, who has master’s in public administration, savored the wonders of the Natural History museum. 

Caroselli enjoys promoting the museums wherever he goes. "We have a real gem here, especially now with the science center and Warhol museum. Not all cities have a resource like we do." 

As a volunteer, Caroselli stresses that it’s important to "make sure people are aware of what we have." He adds: "Even people who are naturally charitable don’t automatically get involved. You have to create that habit in people." Making that potential a reality for Carnegie Museums is what Bill Caroselli hopes to do. 

--Tina Calabro

Travel with Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh 

Lumbering giant tortoises stretching their E.T.-like heads, marine iguanas posing as ancient dragons piled on the black bubbly lava rock, swooping frigate birds, tropic birds catching the sun with their trailing tail streamers …. On every island we were surrounded by the animals that give the Galapagos Archipelago its reputation for being a laboratory of adaptation and natural selection. Boobies – masked boobies, red-footed and blue-footed boobies—gazing cross-eyed down their beaks and high-stepping their mating dance, fulfilled all the promises of the trip brochure for these fabled islands.

For nine days in early August, 19 humans from Pittsburgh on a Carnegie Museums’ trip met eye-to-eye with these unique, unflinching residents. Each morning, after a night’s sailing from the previous island, anchor was dropped and the day’s adventure began. The adventurers disembarked from their comfortable yacht, MV Letty, and set out for shore. On each island, the two accompanying naturalists explained (in English touched with a Spanish accent) the mysteries of the islands. We saw revealed the resident birds’ and animals’ fascinating ways of feeding, mating and passing the day. For all the Pittsburgh adventurers, it was an experience that far exceeded expectations.

Every Carnegie Museums trip hosted by a museum expert is different, and tailor- made for Carnegie Museums’ members. Find out more about traveling with Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh in the year 2000. Call (412) 622-5774.