Explore with InVision Foundation: The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

If you grew up in the Pittsburgh area, you have likely heard of, and experienced, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. As a staple to the Pittsburgh community dating back to 1895, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh present fun, educational exhibits and activities promoting personal growth and social advancement. Within its four establishments we know and love today – the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Science Center, and the Andy Warhol Museum – the Carnegie Museums offer endless opportunities of captivating exploration. 
 
Through InVision Foundation’s Community Connections Grant – a funding program designed to enable the people InVision supports to participate in their community as valuable neighbors – InVision has historically purchased a premium membership with Carnegie. This membership offers InVision personnel – including people supported, Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), office staff and other team members – a variety of benefits in tandem with the Carnegie Museums, such as: 
 

• Free General Admission to the Carnegie Museums, including Highmark SportsWorks, for 2 adults and up to 8 guests (adults or children)
• Invitations to member-only events and programming
• Free reciprocal admission at 300+ Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) museums and science centers that participate in the Travel Passport Program
• Discounts on classes, camps, educational films at The Rangos Giant Cinema, laser shows, lectures, and special events
• A 10% discount in museum stores and cafes (20% store discount during Member Shopping Days)

Along with these benefits, our membership subsidizes the Carnegie Museums and their mission to preserve and expand resources of art and science, as each of the museums extend immersive learning experiences to the Pittsburgh area and beyond. 

Heather’s Recent Adventure to the Carnegie Science Center 

Heather, a person supported by InVision, recently visited the Carnegie Science Center with a long term InVision DSP, but new member of her support team, Vicki Fountain. During their day trip to the Science Center, Heather and Vicki navigated through a maze, participated in the basketball activity through Highmark SportsWorks’ Motion Lab, had a chance to blow the train’s horn at the train station, and more. 
 
Although Vicki and Heather had established a relationship prior to Vicki becoming a member of Heather’s support team – due to Heather being friends with the person Vicki previously supported – changes in support staff can be challenging. Since Vicki has only recently joined Heather’s support team, their shared adventure of exploring the Science Center helped the two to bond further and become more comfortable with each other. 
 
“It was great seeing Heather excited and her eyes light up when she saw things such as the turtles and train station,” Vicki shared. “It’s nice that we are able to provide these experiences, and that we are able to go out and do fun things together.” 
 
Along with the various activities they enjoyed at the Science Center, Heather and Vicki also had the opportunity to practice their CPR skills at Highmark SportsWorks – a certification in which Heather recently received and was ecstatic to work on her newfound skills. 
 
With the premium membership through the Foundation, Heather has been able to visit the Science Center on multiple occasions throughout her time with InVision. When asked about her favorite activities from these occurrences, Heather noted seeing films at The Rangos Giant Cinema. Heather also stated that the Science Center is a place of fun with a lot of things she enjoys, and that she loves to go to the Science Center as a way to spend time with her support staff. 
 

InVision’s Membership 

 
Through our membership, the people supported by InVision, their DPSs, other members of InVision staff can attend the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh with free admission as often as they would like throughout the year. With the wide scope of education and unique pursuits the Carnegie Museums provide, each visit to one of the four museums is bound to be full of learning moments, new knowledge and skills, entertainment, and joyful memories.  
 
We are excited to share that the Foundation has renewed its membership with Carnegie starting in April 2024 to continue providing the people we serve with access to these formative experiences. We encourage all our DSPs to check in with the people they support and plan a trip to a Carnegie Museum of interest for a day of exploration!
 
This year, we will also work toward identifying additional events, classes, and other membership benefit opportunities through Carnegie that may be of interest to those we serve. InVision Foundation is grateful to our Community Connections donors for making this membership possible. We look forward to hearing about all the exciting adventures to be had at the Carnegie Museums in the year ahead! 
 
For more information on InVision Foundation and ways to donate, please visit the Foundation page on our website.