Areas for Support
There are many ways to get involved. Sponsors may underwrite our popular annual events and/or ongoing activities. Cash or in-kind gifts of goods and/or services are also welcomed. Benefits of sponsorship are listed on the Sponsorship page.
Events
I.D. Day: Curators and collections managers from three U-M research museums (Paleontology, Anthropology, and Zoology) staff information tables with hands-on specimens and artifacts. They also answer questions from members of the public, many of whom bring in their own objects for identification. Cost: $1,000 Attendance: 700+
Family Halloween Party: This fun, safe, educational annual family event features trick or treating at 10 to 12 stations on a variety of Halloween and natural history themes. Cost: $1,000 Attendance: 2,000+
Dinosaur Discovery Day: Held on the first Saturday in December, this popular event highlights our pre-historic life exhibits with theme-based activity stations. Visitors explore fossil digs, play dinosaur Olympics, and the learn the differences between dinosaurs and birds, and plant and meat-eating creatures. Cost: $1,000 Attendance: 1,500+
Annual Winter Discovery Day: Every March, the Museum hosts a Discovery Day as part of the collaboration with Washtenaw, Livingston, Jackson, and Wayne County libraries for the Winter Family Reading and Science program. Discovery Day activities include hands-on stations, talks by experts (professors, scientists, and curators), musical performances, and live animal demonstrations. Cost: $1,500 Attendance: 1,500+
Ongoing Opportunities
Books for Book Nooks: The Exhibit Museum has several book nooks in the exhibit halls where adults and children can sit and read together. The Museum replaces well-worn books on an annual basis. Sponsor will be acknowledged on a special book plate inside each book. Cost: $250
School Scholarship Program: The Exhibit Museum welcomes over 20,000 school children in groups each year for a variety of educational programs. Groups pay a per-person fee, ranging from $1.50 to $6.00, depending on the program selected. Many schools cannot afford even these modest tour fees. Budget cuts over the last few years have had an enormous impact on the ability of schools to offer "extras," like field trips. The School Scholarship Program makes it possible for disadvantaged children to visit the Museum. Eligible schools are those in which 50% or more of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Cost: $500 - $1000
Weekend Dinosaur Tours: Museum student docents lead free public tours of the prehistoric life exhibits every Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm. These half-hour tours are very popular with Museum visitors. Cost: $1,500 per year
Educator's Guide to Field Trips: Every August the Exhibit Museum mails a brochure describing our education programs to several thousand teachers and schools throughout Southeast Michigan. Additional copies are distributed in the Museum's information racks, at education conferences, and at outreach events. Costs include the design, printing, and mailing of approximately 20,000 brochures each year. Cost: $2,500 per year
Planetarium Shows: The Exhibit Museum Planetarium schedules public shows throughout the year on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, as well as during school vacation weeks and on weekday afternoons in July and August. Two different shows are offered, changing seasonally.
Cost: $250-500 per show
Geology Gallery Updating: The 4th floor Geology Gallery needs to be renovated into a space for changing exhibits. The first exhibit will be of lost-wax cast brass sculptures from Ghana. The geology exhibits will be updated and moved into hall cases. Cost: $50,000
Digital Theater Project: The Museum's outdated Planetarium needs to be replaced. New UniView technology uses a full-color laser system that can present dazzling programs on astronomy, space exploration, weather, geology, biology, and other subject areas, supporting the Museum's emphasis on communicating current scientific research. Cost: Gifts to support the creation of such a resource include $100,000 expendable and $500,000 for an endowment for operational support.
To pursue a sponsorship opportunity, or if you have any questions, contact Robin Little, Development Officer (734-936-5834, robinal@umich.edu).
