Scheduled for 12:00 to 4:00 pm, rain or shine, and open to the entire community, Bruce ConsTRUCKS will feature construction trucks and other vehicles for kids to explore, an array of children’s crafts and other hands-on activities, a visit by the “Bubble Bus,” live music, food and ice cream trucks, and more. A noise- and horn-free quiet hour will be offered from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm for children and families looking for a sensory-friendly experience.
On Sunday, September 8, the Bruce Museum launches the public phase of the Campaign for the New Bruce with Bruce ConsTRUCKS, a day of free family fun to celebrate the Museum’s transformative renovation and construction project.
Bruce ConsTRUCKS will also feature a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the public to draw on our gallery walls the day before renovation work begins. This may be your only chance to leave your mark on the Museum’s walls – sketch a picture, write us a note, express yourself!
At 12:30 pm, Robert Wolterstorff, The Susan E. Lynch Executive Director, joined by Museum and community leaders, will speak about the transformative impact the New Bruce will have and the tremendous generosity of friends and early donors who are helping make it happen.
Visitors will be able to view informational displays about the expansion project, and Museum staff and Campaign leaders will be on hand to speak about how you can lend your support. Special Membership opportunities will also be available during this day only.
The centerpiece of the New Bruce is a three-story, 40,000 square-foot addition that will more than double the size of the current Museum, offering more space for both art and science. Designed by the prestigious New Orleans firm of Eskew + Dumez + Ripple, the building will open directly onto Bruce Park and feature a delicate striated façade of cast stone and glass inspired by the surfaces of Connecticut’s rock quarries.
The New Bruce construction project will begin on September 9, with the renovation of the Museum’s existing gallery spaces. These galleries will re-open on February 1, 2020 with the installation of major new art and science exhibitions.
During the renovation phase, September 9 through January 31, 2020, admission to the Bruce Museum will be free to all visitors. The permanent science gallery, which features The Earth’s Minerals, Changes in Our Land, Life Between the Tides, and other exhibitions, will remain open, as will the Museum Store. Visit brucemuseum.org for information about scheduled programs and special events during this renovation phase.
To facilitate the renovation work, the Museum will be closed to the public from Tuesday, September 17 through Friday, September 27. The Bruce re-opens to the public on Saturday, September 28, with a new exhibition in the Bantle Lecture Gallery, Contemporary Artists/Traditional Forms: Chinese Brushwork.
The New Bruce project – the first since a $4.3 million expansion in 1992 – is already under way, with expansion and improvements to the Museum’s parking lot completed in the fall of 2018. The renovation of the changing gallery spaces will be followed, in early 2020, by a complete renovation and reinvention of the permanent science galleries. Groundbreaking for the art wing addition is anticipated to take place spring-summer 2020.
The expansion of the Museum from 30,000 to 70,000 square feet will add state-of-the-art exhibition, education, and community spaces, significantly increasing room for permanent and changing exhibitions of art and science, and connecting the Museum to its picturesque setting in Bruce Park in a dramatic new way.
“These are exciting times, not just for us here at the Bruce but for the entire community,” says Robert Wolterstorff. “We’ve long been known for our great exhibitions of art and science and for the wonderful educational programs we provide to schools throughout the region. But Museums are really about people; about learning and connections for our members; about offering great experiences to visitors and community. That’s why we want to invite the entire community to be a part of building a new Museum – the New Bruce.”
We would like to thank Bruce ConsTRUCKS Co-Chairs Felicity Kostakis, Cricket Lockhart, Julia Nusseibeh, and Candace Procaccini for their vision and leadership. And we are grateful for support from Eversource, Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman, Cummings & Lockwood, LLC, Felicity Kostakis, Dominick and Matt Lio of Empire ECS Construction Management, Julia and Jamal Nusseibeh, PepsiCo, Candace Procaccini, Rise Brewing Co., and Sweet Lisa’s Exquisite Cakes, as well as media sponsor Moffly Media/Greenwich Magazine. For details about Bruce ConsTRUCKS, visit brucemuseum.org or call 203-869-0376.
To learn more about the Campaign for the New Bruce and to add your support, contact Whitney Lucas Rosenberg, Director of Development and Institutional Advancement, at 203-413-6765 or [email protected] or Barbara Tavrow, Campaign Advisor for the New Bruce; 203-249-8225 or [email protected].