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Holiday Activities announced at
Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History
November 8, 2007
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History celebrate the holidays with a variety of special programs. Following is a complete list of events for this holiday season. All activities are included in the price of admission unless otherwise indicated.
Holiday Tree Display: A Celebration of Glass
Nov. 30, 2007–Jan. 6, 2008
Hall of Architecture
This year the museum’s holiday tree display is inspired by Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass, a year-long festival of glass-related activities in the city. Five, 20-foot, fresh pine trees will feature glass-themed ornaments, including “Floating Glass,” a tribute to glass as an everyday material; “Glorious Glass,”a look at the relationship between the artist and the craft; “A New Day for Glass in Pittsburgh,” ornaments made from fiberglass; “Stained Glass,” a testament to the artisan storyteller; and “Laboratory Glass.” Also included in the display is “Stained Glass from Sacred to Domestic,” a group of three smaller trees at the museum’s Carriage Drive entrance. Members and friends of the Women’s Committee of Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh decorate each tree with hundreds of hand-crafted ornaments.
Another group of smaller trees will also be on display at the museums’ courtyard entrance, featuring ornaments made by children participating in the museum’s ARTventures program.
Holiday Tree Preview Party
Thurs., Nov. 29, 2007
6:00–8:30 p.m.
Hall of Architecture
The holiday tree display opens with a preview party hosted by the Women’s Committee of Carnegie Museum of Art. Guests will enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are $60 and must be purchased in advance by calling 412.622.3325.
Neapolitan Presepio
Nov. 23, 2007–Jan. 4, 2008
Hall of Architecture
The presepio, a centuries-old tradition in Naples and southern Italy,is an elaborate Nativity scene recreated with miniature figures and animals and arranged in a detailed panorama. Handmade by craftsmen between 1700 and 1830, Carnegie Museum of Art’s vibrant Neapolitan presepio, one of the finest examples of its kind, features more than 100 superbly modeled human, animal, and angelic figures, accessories, and architectural elements. A visit to the presepio has been a holiday tradition for many Pittsburgh families since 1957.
Guided Tours of the Neapolitan presepio
Visitors can take a free docent-led tour of the presepio Tues.–Sun., noon–12:30 p.m., Nov. 23 through Jan. 4. Tours meet in front of the museum store.
Lunch and Learn: Holiday Traditions and Religion in Art
Thurs., Dec. 13
10:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
$35 members/$45 nonmembers
Lunch in the Carnegie Café is included.
Call 412.622.3288 to register.
Attendees will visit the Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning. After lunch, the group will join museum docents for a tour of artworks in the collection with a religious theme, including the 18th-century Neapolitan presepio.
ARTventures: Drop-in Family Activities
Fly Away, Fly Away
Sat. & Sun., Nov. 23–Dec. 30, 12:30–4:30 p.m.
Free with museum admission
Family and friends are invited to look for birds in works of art in the galleries and then create a fanciful bird of their own. These birds can return home with guests or stay perched in one of the museum’s special holiday trees set up for ARTventures participants’ work at the museum’s rear entrance.
Winter in the Discovery Room
Tues.–Fri., 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Sat., 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Sun., 1:00–4:00 p.m.
Also open all day during special holiday hours.
Visitors experience the wonder of winter. They will learn about holiday greenery by seeing and smelling live spruce, pine, and other festive plants. They can also touch a caribou’s winter white fur, investigate animals on the Discovery Room tree, listen to the calls of wild birds, and more.
Who Ate the Cookie?
Fisher Scientific Biotechnology Laboratory
Saturdays in December
noon–4:00 p.m.
Hands-on experiments featuring state-of-the-art technology will teach attendees about DNA extraction. The 30-minute programs begin on the half hour in the Green Classroom, located on the ground floor of the museum. Children under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Holiday Concerts
Hall of Architecture
Musical performances will be held on select Saturdays and Sundays in December in the Hall of Architecture. Concerts are free with museum admission.
Sun., Dec. 2, 2:00–2:45 p.m.
Mon Valley Band
Sat., Dec. 8, noon–12:45 p.m.
Harp Society
Sun., Dec. 9, 2:00–2:45 p.m.
Mt. Lebanon High School Percussion Ensemble
Sat., Dec. 15, 1:30–2:15 p.m.
Pittsburgh Woodwinds Quintet
Sun., Dec. 16, 2:00–2:45 p.m.
East Winds Symphonic Band
Sun., Dec. 23, 2:00–2:45
Matt Korbanic
Holiday Shopping
The stores at Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Natural History offer unique, imaginative, and affordable gifts—many of them exclusive to the museums. The stores are open during museum hours. Shoppers can also purchase items online at www.carnegieartstore.com and www.naturalhistorystore.com.
Holiday Clearance Sale
Dec. 4, 9:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
This one-day clearance sale will offer “bargain basement” prices, with savings up to 60% off. Tables stationed in front of the two museum stores in Oakland will offer discounted merchandise from all four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh stores.
Shopping and Dining Discounts
Carnegie Café diners receive a 10% discount on purchases made in either the Museum of Art or Museum of Natural History stores. Museum store shoppers get a coupon for 10% off one meal in the Carnegie Café.
(Coupons are good only for date of purchase. Maximum discount in stores is $10 [$100 purchase], maximum discount in Carnegie Café is $5 [$50 purchase]. This promotion runs until Jan. 6, 2008, and may not be combined with other discounts.
Membership Holiday Promotions
Gift Memberships to Carnegie Museums offer a full year of museum enjoyment for any size household. For a whole year, recipients will receive free general admission to all four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and additional member benefits. Gift memberships are wrapped in a gold gift folder. Details are available at the admissions desks, by calling 412.622.3314, or by visiting www.carnegiemuseums.org. Orders received by Dec. 12 guarantee delivery by Dec. 24.
Restaurants
Carnegie Café, quality self-serve dining, Tues.–Sat., 10:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Thurs. evenings until 7:00 p.m.
Fossil Fuels Refreshments, family-friendly food, Tues.–Sat., 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Sun., noon–4:00 p.m.
Brown Bag Lunchroom/Vending area, daily during museum hours
Expanded hours
This holiday season, Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Natural History will observe the following changes in hours:
Special Expanded Hours:
Nov. 21–30, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
On Dec. 1, 2007, the museums will return to regular hours: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. weekdays and noon–5:00 p.m. Sundays. Thursdays the museums are open until 8 p.m.
Closed:
Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22), Christmas Eve Day (Dec. 24), and Christmas Day (Dec. 25)
Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh and founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895, Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Natural History, two of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, are nationally and internationally recognized for their collections. For more information call 412.622.3131 or visit the museums’ web sites at www.carnegiemuseums.org.
Contact:
Tey Stiteler
412.688.8690
stitelert@carnegiemuseums.org
Ellen James
412.622.3361
jamese@carnegiemuseums.org
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