Bay Area Discovery Museum awarded $1.17 million grant from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

The Bay Area Discovery Museum has been awarded a $1,177,000 grant from the San Francisco-based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to support the design, fabrication, and evaluation of two new educational exhibitions that will foster environmental stewardship in young children through interactive learning experiences.

As part of the Museum's My Place By The Bay fundraising and expansion campaign, the grant award will make two new exhibitions possible: Lookout Cove, a 2.5-acre outdoor exploration area, and the Wave Workshop, an indoor science hall that will feature a wind and water workshop where visitors learn how organisms adapt to live at the Golden Gate.

"The exhibits will give children the opportunity to develop empathy for the natural world," said Frank Jordan, the Foundation's chief program officer for the San Francisco Bay Area. "Our goal and hope for this partnership is to build future leaders who will, over time, act to promote healthy ecosystems."

Lori Fogarty, executive director at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, applauds the Moore Foundation's commitment to children and the natural sciences. She noted, "The partnership will enable us to provide a new level of inquiry-based environmental science learning for thousands of San Francisco Bay Area children and their families."

The Bay Area Discovery Museum offers numerous educational programs in the natural sciences for San Francisco Bay Area children, including school groups. The generous grant from the Moore Foundation will provide increased opportunities for children to understand and care for the world around them. The Museum's mission is to engage, delight and educate children through exploration of and connection with the local environment and the diverse communities that live here.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation was established in September 2000 to create positive outcomes for future generations. The Foundation funds outcome-based grants and initiatives to achieve significant and measurable results. Grantmaking supports the Foundation's principal areas of interest: global environmental conservation, science, and the San Francisco Bay Area.