By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor

Carnegie Science Center announces $65M donation, name change

Following the largest donation since the museum’s founding, the Carnegie Science Center will be changing its name to the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center.

The museum announced the switch during a press conference on Jan. 23. The donation from the Kamins comes to $65 million, an amount Steven Knapp, president and CEO of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, called “transformational.”

Daniel is a Pittsburgh-based commercial real estate entrepreneur who has long held a fascination with astral science. During the conference, Daniel’s old telescope was displayed, as well as a picture of the moon he took with it. As a kid, Daniel said he was fascinated by questions like “where does space end” and “when does time begin?”

“My parents couldn’t answer that question and Jason couldn’t either,” said Daniel, referencing Jason Brown, the Henry Buhl, Jr., Director of the Science Center and Vice President of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

Carole, meanwhile, is an emeritus member of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History advisory board and a member of the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Women’s Committee. The pair are both members of the Carnegie Nobel Quartet Society, which recognizes lifetime giving to Carnegie Museums in excess of $1 million, and previously committed $5 million to permanently endow the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s director position.

“Over time, this gift will dramatically increase our endowment and allow us greater opportunities to innovate, serve our community and strengthen our role as one of the nation’s preeminent facilities for science education,” Brown said.

Brown pointed out that this is not the first time the Science Center has changed names. It was initially founded as the Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science in 1939, before later merging with the Carnegie Institute and moving to its present location in 1991, when it was renamed to the Carnegie Science Center. Brown said some results from the name change will take place in the near future, while others such as signage will occur over the next several months to years.

Despite the name change, Brown said the museum will remain part of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

GoFundMe pages launched for businesses burned by fire

GoFundMe pages for Nana’s New York Hot Dogs and El Burro Comedor — two Northside restaurants that were heavily damaged in a fire on Dec. 19, 2023 — have been created to support the eateries.

The El Burro GoFundMe can be found at gofundme.com/f/support-the-northsideel- burro-staff and is seeking a $4,000 goal. The money will be split among the eight staff members of the restaurant, providing each with $500 to help them while their restaurant is closed. Any excess money above the goal amount will be split among the staff evenly, according to the page.

The Nana’s page, meanwhile, is seeking a $20,000 goal. The money, according to the page, will support the owners and staff affected by the fire, as well as picking up any losses not covered by insurance for the restaurant. The page can be found at gofundme.com/f/lets-bring-nanas-back. The page said the “ultimate goal is to rebuild Nana’s and open it again.”

According to the Nana’s page, the fire not only destroyed the restaurant, but also consumed the inventory of an eBay business run by one of the co-owners of Nana’s.

Astrobotic moon landing doesn’t go to plan

A rendering of the Astrobotic Peregrine lander on the moon’s surface. The lander was unable to land on the moon as planned due to a propellant leak. Courtesy image by Astrobotic

Astrobotic Technology, the Northside-based space robotics company, was unable to perform a planned moon landing during its Peregrine mission over the course of January.

The company, which is located in Chateau, was aiming to perform a lunar landing on Feb. 23 with its Peregrine lander. As the company noted in a press release after the launch of the rocket bearing the lander, this would have been the first American lander to reach the moon in more than 50 years.

However, a propellant leak detected early in the mission meant a landing was not possible.

“Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the Moon,” a Jan. 9 release from the company read. “However, we do still have enough propellant to continue to operate the vehicle as a spacecraft.”

The craft was able to perform an elliptical flight all the way to lunar distance, reaching more than 240,000 miles from Earth, but did not perform the landing. Instead, Astrobotic had the craft perform a controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere on Jan. 18, where it burned up. The company is now seeking to use what it has learned from the mission to improve its planned Griffin lander, which is expected to launch in late 2024.

“Peregrine has flown so Griffin may land,” the company said in a Jan. 19 release.

Allegheny West Civic Council board membership changes

Two seats on Allegheny West Civic Council’s Board of Directors are changing hands, as announced at the Jan. 9 meeting of the community organization.

Treasurer Dan Adam and director Sally Graubarth will be stepping down, having reached the end of their terms on the board. Stepping in will be Cathy Serventi and Jim Wallace. The former will become the new treasurer, while the latter will join as the chair of the Housing & Planning Committee.

The Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center will present a series of free educational programs for Northside families starting on Jan. 13.

There will be four programs in total taking place in January, February, March and May. Each program has a different theme. The programs are intended for kids ages 3 to 5.

The Jan. 13 program is titled “Ready for Blastoff” and will focus on astronauts, how they get ready to go into space, and attendees will get to make their own space suit. The Feb. 10 program is titled “Junior Rocket Scientist” and attendees will get the chance to design their own rockets. The March 9 program is “Creepy Crawly” and will focus on insects, their behaviors and body parts. The May 11 program is called “Incoming Landing” and will be about the construction of parachute landers and Mars rovers.

All programs will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. on their respective day. Snacks will be provided and attendees will receive a RiverView Cafe food voucher. Free premium memberships will be given to Northside residents with early learners, while supplies last.

There is a limited capacity for these programs. Interested families can register to attend by calling the Science Center at (412) 237-3400 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

City of Asylum gains new executive director

City of Asylum has a new executive director, one who comes from the other side of the world.

Caro Llewellyn was announced as the new director on Dec. 22, 2023. Llewellyn hails from Australia and, according to the announcement, has “run several of the world’s largest literary festivals.”

Llewellyn most recently served as chief executive officer for the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas. She has also written a memoir titled “Diving into Glass” and served as director and artistic director of PEN World Voices, where she worked alongside Salman Rushdie, the famed Indian author who survived a stabbing attack in 2022 just before an event with Henry Reese, the co-founder of City of Asylum.