Community Celebrates Opening of North Education Center and Mosaic Backyard Universe at The Bishop

Community leaders, families and Museum staff gathered today at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature to cut the ribbon on the new North Education Center and its cornerstone permanent exhibition, the Mosaic Backyard Universe. The first official Backyard visitors were dozens of first-graders from Myakka City Elementary, who streamed into the exhibition after officials cut the ribbon. 

The Mosaic Backyard Universe provides a new world of fun, interactive exploration to the region’s young learners and the young-at-heart, who feel the joy of discovery in lifelong learning. With a scale model of our solar system, freshwater Pond with native turtles, Science Shed, fossil Dig Pit, Cardboard Rocket and the life-sized Ralph S. French Charitable Foundation Mighty Oak towering above it all, The Bishop has Southwest Florida’s coolest backyard.

The North Education Center expansion, which includes the Backyard, encompasses 12,600 square feet of new and renovated classroom and exhibition space, and adds 15,300 square feet of outdoor multi-use space. This allows the Museum to provide daily opportunities for public programs like Lunch & Learn, expanded homeschool courses and additional school field trips. It will also be home to collaborative endeavors with the School District of Manatee County and other public schools, private schools and the Early Learning Coalition.

Brian Carter, President of The Bishop’s Board of Trustees, said, “The Museum’s founders were committed to the community, and we continue that legacy today. The Bishop is the largest cultural attraction in Manatee County, serving 70,000 people annually — including nearly 10,000 school children from eight Florida counties. The North Education Center enables us to expand our educational offerings even further, including new field trip offerings.” 

This expansion and renovation focuses on creating new experiences for both visitors and school groups, who will have a fresh experience every time they come to the Backyard because they will be able to pursue whatever interests them that day — art, astronomy, biology, engineering, geology, paleontology and reading, among others. 

“Seeing the Mosaic Backyard Universe finished is incredibly rewarding. This is an extraordinary milestone for The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature and the community,” said CEO Brynne Anne Besio. “We were exploring ways to better serve young children and their families when Mosaic came to us and said they’d like to help. Thanks to their partnership and transformational gift, today we are opening an exhibition unlike anything else in the region.” 
 
Early support for the expansion came from Mosaic and The Mosaic Company Foundation, which not only encouraged the Museum’s Board to “think big” in terms of planning new programs and spaces to serve the education needs of young children and their families, but also provided important financial support in the form of a $1.3 million grant.

Other strong community support came from: 

The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners and the Manatee County Tourism Development Council (TDC), in conjunction with the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which made a $1 million grant;
$10.33 million in donations and grants from private individuals and foundations; 
$450,000 in grants from the state of Florida;
$118,000 in donations from private business.

Construction of the North Education Center and Mosaic Backyard Universe was part of a larger overall reimagining of the Museum, which included:

Planetarium upgrades;
Development of the interactive Pathways app;
Facility upgrades, including the Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat, the roof, chiller, security cameras and phone system;
Planning, architecture and engineering for the Museum campus;
Purchase of the DeSoto House to allow for full development of the whole campus;
A new name and brand identity — The Bishop Museum
of Science and Nature. 

In addition to being a major contributor to the educational landscape of the region, The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature is an important contributor to the region’s tourism and economy, with a $5.8 million economic benefit.