The Sheth Sangreal Foundation of Austin awarded a five-year, $1-million grant to the Discovery Museum in Acton to support the museum’s sustainability and inclusivity efforts.
The Discovery Museum, an interactive series of exhibits emphasizing scientific exploration, plans to use the grant to support its goal of having net zero greenhouse gas emissions by switching to solar energy, improving energy use efficiency, and offering visitors carbon offsets. The museum’s five-year plan includes reducing its carbon footprint by 50%.
Additionally, the grant funds will increase free and reduced-cost service to schools and families by 50% as part of the museum’s goal of achieving parity between visitor and regional demographics. The museum will emphasize outreach to and education for children with limited access to the outdoors due to living circumstances or disability.
Within the grant, $200,000 is intended to match a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund to prepare the Discovery Museum property for solar power installations this year. The remaining $800,000 is committed as a multi-year grant challenge for visitors to match by 2025 to support the museum’s five-year plan.
Â
