Donations sought to update science center’s miniature railroad

The Carnegie Science Center is launching a crowdfunding effort to raise $30,000, or 8% of the cost of a major update to its miniature railroad and village exhibit and the gallery where it is shown annually.

The center’s goal is to raise $376,000 and set aside $100,000 of that for an endowment that will pay for maintaining and updating the popular display, said Connie George, the center’s marketing director.

So far, the center has raised $153,000, or 40% of its goal. Eighteen donors have each pledged $1,000 so that they or a loved one can have their face painted on a miniature figurine shown in the exhibit for 10 years, Ms. George said.

“We have a limited number of people who can commit at that level. Ten years is now standard in contracts for most donations,” Ms. George added.

The exhibit changes each year, and some pieces are taken away, she said.

Officials at the North Shore center said the gallery containing the exhibit needs new carpet, fresh paint, signs, LED lighting and motion-activated digital text panels.

Since 1992, the exhibit has been funded through the center’s general operating budget.

“People donate all the time to the railroad. We have a box at the exhibit that people put money into. You can text money to donate to the railroad,” Ms. George said.

The science center also plans to digitize and publish a 100-year-old archive featuring never-beforeseen photos and letters from Charles Bowdish, who created the handmade village in his Brookville home in Jefferson County and first displayed it on Christmas Eve in 1919 to amuse guests at his brother’s wedding.

The World War I veteran began building Christmas displays in 1917. Bowdish died at age 92 in May 1988.

In 1954, the exhibit moved to Buhl Science Center. After two years of

updates, it reopened in 1992 at Carnegie Science Center. Last year marked the exhibit’s 100th anniversary.

“This 100th anniversary is a great opportunity to establish a permanent funding source,” Ms. George said.

The online fundraising effort launches Sunday at bit.ly/MRRV100. Contributors who give $50 receive a vintage track piece from the miniature railroad, an On Track guide with a comprehensive map of the display and article about its latest additions and a miniature railroad postcard.

For those who give $1,000, a custom miniature figure painted to look like the donor or a loved one will be placed in the display for 10 years. In addition, donors receive a printed map of the location of the custom figure, a holiday ornament made in the BNY Mellon Fab Lab at the science center, an invitation to the 100th anniversary celebration in November, a pair of 100th anniversary train socks, a vintage track piece from the miniature railroad, an On Track guide and a commemorative postcard.

The center also plans to use its new digital archive to publish a limited-edition centennial book featuring rare photographs, the exhibit’s history, its models and dedicated caretakers.