Gov. Charlie Baker to Visit Springfield Museums on June 9

SPRINGFIELD — The Cat in the Hat himself will be on hand on Saturday, June 9 at 1:30 p.m. to take Gov. Charlier Baker on a tour of the Springfield Museums — and the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum — after the governor announced $9.3 million in new capital funding to support the creative economy in Massachusetts. The Springfield Science Museum is one of the beneficiaries of this grant cycle.

“We are overjoyed to receive these needed funds to help us improve the infrastructure of our 160-year-old museum,” said Dave Stier, director of the Springfield Science Museum. 

The $9.3 million in new grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a state program that fosters the growth of the creative economy by supporting building projects in the nonprofit arts, humanities, and sciences, will impact many throughout Massachusetts. Grants range from $7,000 to $200,000 and must be matched one-to-one from private and/or other public sources.

Locally, awards include $200,000 to the Springfield Science Museum for renovations to the bathroom, lighting, and carpeting; $100,000 to the Northampton Community Arts Trust for exterior site work, including sidewalk and parking renovations and landscaping to create small gathering spaces and an outdoor event space; $100,000 to Shakespeare & Company in Lenox for improvements to wayfinding signage, parking-lot repairs, and energy efficiency; and $165,000 to the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown  to replace environmental-control systems in the Manton Research Center and to install central heating and dehumidification systems in the museum building attic.

“From the Berkshires to Cape Cod, Massachusetts is home to a deep cultural history that continues to grow and thrive,” Baker said. “Our administration looks forward to continuing our work to support public-private partnerships like these that will help drive tourism and benefit residents and visitors for years to come.”

Added Kay Simpson, president of the Springfield Museums, “improving the facilities of the wildly popular Springfield Science Museum will attract even more people to our city and increase the impact our museums have to share wonder with our visitors.”