Bruce Museum of Arts and Science facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 1912 |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Museum Drive Greenwich, Connecticut, United States |
| Type | Art, science, natural history |
| Public transit access |   Greenwich |
The Bruce Museum is a super cool place in Greenwich, Connecticut. It's a museum all about art, science, and natural history! People sometimes call it "The Bruce."
Its main building sits on a hill in a park. You can even spot its tall tower from the highway! Inside, you'll find amazing permanent exhibits. These include sparkling minerals and the history of local Native Americans. You can also learn how people have changed the land. Plus, there are cool dioramas showing Connecticut's wildlife and birds. The museum also has special exhibits that change often. These can be about art, photos, science, or history.
The Bruce Museum has a second spot called the Bruce Museum Seaside Center. It's located at Greenwich Point Park. This center focuses on beach-related exhibits. It even has a touch-tank where you can feel sea creatures! The museum also has a "Brucemobile." This is a traveling van with exhibits. It helps the museum teach people in other places. The museum often hosts talks, classes, and fun events. For over 40 years, it has also hosted a local arts festival. This festival is known as one of the best fine arts festivals in the country.
Between 2020 and 2023, the museum became much bigger. It tripled its size with a new, modern building. This new part is called The New Bruce. It has three floors and over 43,000 square feet of extra space for exhibits. The new addition includes a special education wing. It also has a new art wing.
Discovering Art at The Bruce Museum
The Bruce Museum has a great art collection. It especially focuses on the Cos Cob Art Colony. This was a group of Impressionist artists. You can see paintings by famous artists like Childe Hassam and Emil Carlsen. There are also works by Leonard Ochtman and Mina Fonda Ochtman. The museum also has sculptures from the 1800s and 1900s. These include pieces by Auguste Rodin and George Segal.
Amazing Permanent Exhibits
The Bruce Museum wants everyone to understand and enjoy art and science. Its permanent exhibits teach you about nature. They look at things from both local and global viewpoints. You can learn about geology (rocks and earth) and paleontology (fossils). There's also archaeology (old human history). You can explore the history of local Native Americans. Plus, you'll see how people have changed the area around Greenwich.
There are many display cases with cool minerals. You can even touch a real meteorite! Some cases show huge mineral crystals from all over the world. There are also minerals that glow under a black light. A part of a Northeast woodland wigwam has been built. It's a cozy spot to learn about Native Americans. There's also a model of an archaeological dig. This shows how scientists find old things.
Other exhibits focus on how the land in Greenwich changed. You can see how it looked before settlers arrived. Then you can see how it changed up to the early 1900s. A big exhibit shows different prehistoric times. It also displays the fossils from those eras. A fifteen-foot diorama shows local woodland wildlife. Other displays feature more birds and animals found in the area. There's even a marine tank with live small fish, crabs, and sea stars. You can get a close look at these amazing sea creatures!
History of The Bruce Museum
The Bruce Museum building was first built in 1853. It was a private home for Francis Lister Hawks. He was a lawyer, a clergyman, and a historian. In 1858, a rich textile merchant named Robert Moffat Bruce bought the house. He was part of the New York Cotton Exchange.
In 1908, Robert Moffat Bruce gave his mansion to the town of Greenwich. He wanted it to be used "as a natural history, historical and art museum." It was meant for everyone to enjoy. The museum's first exhibition opened in 1912. It showed art from the Greenwich Art Society. This society exhibited at the Bruce every year until 1926. Many of these artists were also part of the Cos Cob Art Colony. The museum's early collection includes paintings and drawings. It also has notebooks from Cos Cob Art Colony artists. These include George Wharton Edwards and Mina Fonda Ochtman.
In 1992, the Bruce Museum became a non-profit organization. That same year, the museum started a big project. They completely renovated their building. When it reopened in September 1993, the museum looked very different. A new architectural structure was built around the original house. It had art galleries on one side. On the other side were galleries about environmental history. In 1998, the Bruce Museum received a special award. It was accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. This is a big honor that only a few museums get.
In 2001, Dutch art expert Peter C. Sutton became the museum's director. He retired in 2019. Robert Wolterstorff then became the new director.
