Across Pennsylvania, state and federal budget delays have frozen critical education and community funding—just when families and schools need it most.

At North Museum of Nature & Science, we refuse to let a government shutdown silence the programs, outreach, and institutional capacity we’ve built together for over seven decades. Every week, children and families walk through our doors to explore the stars in our planetarium, meet animals in our Live Animal Room, and experience hands-on science that inspires a lifelong love of learning.

But without immediate community support, uncertainty in state and federal funding, now stretching beyond 10 months, threatens critical community programs and services. For museums, this marks the second major financial crisis since the global pandemic. Our ability to continuously serve schools, families, and the public is at risk and our planned growth to meet community needs is sidelined.

To secure our mission, for now and for generations to come, we must act boldly. By shifting to a more resilient private funding model, we invite our community to take the lead in protecting and advancing science education, regardless of public funding uncertainty.

The Science Can’t Wait Campaign is our community’s opportunity to respond to an urgent need and invest in lasting impact—together.

Your gift, whether one-time or multi-year, strengthens the pillars of our mission:

• Early Childhood Education (Pre-K–Elementary): The foundations of learning, curiosity, and scientific thinking are built during the most formative years, a time of rapid neural development and lasting impact. Each gift helps us meet current and growing community needs by investing in educator training, hands-on curriculum, and early learning spaces that nurture young minds.
• Career Exploratory & Readiness Programs (Middle–High School): Scale the regional STEM workforce pipeline designed for industry, by industry. Program gifts support industry led career-day events, invention-thinking curriculum, mini mentorship initiatives, and credentialed learning.
• Live Animal Program: Expanding our Live Animal Room habitats and programming as a cornerstone for educational programming on animal behavior, conservation, and biodiversity. Each gift supports habitat expansion, animal care, conservation programming, and our Live Animal Room ambassador initiative.
• Astronomy & Technology: Strengthen regional STEM capacity through immersive learning in the largest public planetarium dome in the region. Gifts support digital teaching platforms, immersive astronomy tools, AI literacy programming, and the technology and training that bring science to life.
• Exhibitions & Collections: Through creative exhibition design, we bring natural history and scientific innovation to life. Gifts support collaborative curation with local subject matter experts, exhibit fabrication, scientific research, and the conservation of North Museum’s cherished collections.
• Environmental Education: Invest in climate and conservation education that equips learners to understand and protect the ecosystems that sustain us. Each gift supports our nature-based learning model, field research, and native habitat restoration. Gifts also support a growing network of trained volunteer naturalists and citizen scientists.
• Adult Learning & Engagement (ALE) Learning doesn’t graduate, it evolves. At North Museum, we connect curious minds and build community through science. From seasoned experts to ambitious young professionals, our programs bring people together to explore big ideas, spark conversation, and inspire lifelong learning. Gifts support adult programming including member lectures, scientific societies, explorer events, and literature.
• Access for All: Advance inclusion by providing sensory-accessible programming, ADA-compliant resources, and embedding equity as a core operational value. Philanthropic support ensures equitable access by removing financial and geographic barriers for families, schools, and community groups. Your gift sustains free and reduced-cost admission and helps maintain a barrier-free environment where all learners can engage with STEM exploration.
• Where it’s needed most! Support the North Museum’s greatest needs and highest-impact work. Your unrestricted gift provides funding to respond to urgent challenges and invest in strategic growth.

No matter what happens in Washington or Harrisburg, your support ensures science remains accessible, equitable, and enduring for the thousands who rely on North Museum each year.