Museum With Renowned Dinosaur Fossils Gets a $25 Million Gift
Carole Kamin first walked through the doors of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1975 after taking a job as a buyer for the Pittsburgh museum's gift shop. Awe-struck by the fossils on display, she would style herself as a 'dinosaur queen' for the next 20 years.
She sourced dino-patterned fabric from India for barbecue aprons. She worked with a toy manufacturer to produce models of the museum's ancient creatures. She persuaded a candy supplier to make caramel-filled 'Sweet Beasts.'
Now Kamin and her husband, Daniel, are donating $25 million toward renovating the museum, which was founded in 1895 and has one of North America's largest museum collections of fossils. The gift comes at a time when dinosaurs are as firmly entrenched in the zeitgeist as ever, thanks in part to record-setting fossil auctions and blockbuster films.
The Carnegie museum's holdings include the species-defining fossils — known as holotypes — of the terrifying predator Tyrannosaurus rex and the giant herbivore Apatosaurus louisae.
It also displays arguably the most famous dinosaur skeleton on Earth: the remains of Diplodocus carnegii, a long-necked dinosaur found in 1899 during an expedition funded by the steel baron and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Replica casts of the dinosaur, known as 'Dippy,' reside in museums around the world.
'This is a dinosaur town,' said Matt Lamanna, the museum's curator of vertebrate paleontology. 'It's a source of civic pride.'
The Kamins' donation will give the exhibit housing these ancient creatures, as well as surrounding displays, its first major upgrade in nearly two decades. A majority of their gift will create an endowment to fund research at the museum in perpetuity.
'I know how hard it is to get money for research and even positions,' said Carole Kamin, an emeritus member of the museum's advisory board. 'I just feel really, really good about this, knowing that it's going to help have the right people there.'
It is a perilous moment for the natural world that museums catalog. Beyond the exhibits they host, natural history museums preserve the world's cultural and biological heritage.
'There's so much changing so rapidly, especially as it relates to biodiversity and the environments that we all call home, but these changes don't make sense unless we can look at that across millions of years,' said Gretchen Baker, the director of the Carnegie museum. 'Natural history museums are really the only place that can provide that kind of context, because we have the actual specimens and evidence of that change over time.'
Some keepers of this archive are struggling to survive. Last year, Duke University announced plans to close its herbarium, one of the country's largest collections of plant, fungi and algae specimens. The Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, N.Y., announced in January that $30 million in pledged donations had fallen through, jeopardizing its ability to pay the mortgage on its Museum of the Earth.
Over the past decade, though, several institutions have received large gifts to renovate marquee dinosaur exhibits and support research into the extinct reptiles.
Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History received a $160 million gift in 2018, and from 2016 to 2017, Kenneth C. Griffin, the billionaire hedge fund manager, gave the Field Museum in Chicago over $21 million for its dinosaur exhibits.
Last year, Griffin bought a Stegosaurus fossil known as 'Apex' at auction for $44.6 million and then agreed to loan it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It is now being displayed in the museum's recently opened Gilder Center, a $465 million expansion seeded by Richard Gilder, the banker and philanthropist.
The Kamins' gift to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History follows a $65 million donation that the couple — Daniel Kamin is the president of the Pittsburgh-based commercial real estate firm Kamin Realty — made last year to its sister institution, the Carnegie Science Center. Their combined $90 million in donations over the past year marks the largest philanthropic contribution to Carnegie Museums since Carnegie himself.
Private support for research stands to become more important in the years to come, as the Trump administration considers cutting federal support to scientific and medical research.
'We exist because of private philanthropy, because Andrew Carnegie wanted to give back to the city where he had built his extraordinary wealth,' said Steven Knapp, the president and chief executive of Carnegie Museums. 'It's kind of at the heart of what makes it possible for institutions like ours to exist and to thrive.'
When Carole Kamin was grinding away in her mid-20s, her work at the museum even bled into her sleep. She dreamed of baby dinosaurs running amok in the museum's basement, and of ancient winged reptiles known as pterosaurs soaring over Slippery Rock Creek, a stream north of Pittsburgh.
The gift by the Kamins helps ensure that national history museums like the one that ignited her imagination will remain.
'It's a source of education for young people — of being curious about our world in general — and it sparks the interest in and curiosity of how the world even began,' she said. 'It'd be a lonely planet without having them.'
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UPI
01-06-2025
- UPI
Matthew Lillard: 'Chuck' is a beautiful articulation of the wonder of life
1 of 2 | Matthew Lillard can now be seen in Mike Flanagn's film "The Life of Chuck," which is based on a Stephen King novella. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI | License Photo NEW YORK, May 31 (UPI) -- Five NIghts at Freddy's, Scream and Scooby-Doo icon Matthew Lillard says he has found a kindred spirit in The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan. Lillard met Flanagan about two years ago through a mutual friend and his since gone on to co-star in the writer-director's celebrated movie, The Life of Chuck, as well as collaborate with him on a unique venture in which Flanagan penned, "Rare Fine & Limited," an exclusive novella, to pair with a high-end liquor from LIllard's horror-themed Find Familiar Spirits line of libations. The actor recently told UPI at New York Comic Con that he wasn't familiar with Flanagan's work before he went out to lunch with him and his friend. "We got along great, and at the end of it, he was like, 'We're going to work together some day,' and I was like, 'Cool,'" Lillard recalled. "I was dropping my middle child off at Carnegie-Mellon [University] and I get a phone call and he's like: 'Hey, I have this opportunity. It's very small, but a piece I'm passion about. it's not going to define our relationship. I do not expect you to take it,'" the actor said, referring to the role in Chuck. "And I was like, 'I'll take the shot. I'm in.'" He ended up binging Flanagan's work, which also includes The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass and The Fall of the House of Usher. "I fell in love with him and I fell in love with the way he works," Lillard said. "He's doing really cool things I want to be a part of." When he actually read the script for Chuck, Lillard was glad he didn't hesitate to say "yes." "I have a 5-minute piece. It's very small, but I found something in it that I fell in love with," Lillard said, noting he really believed in the movie and was happy it was a hit at last year's Toronto Film Festival. "I think the most profound thing for me -- other than sitting behind Stephen King and Mark Hamill [at the screening] -- was it is a three-act movie, going backwards and, in between the two acts, there's a 15-second run of black and, in a theater of 2,000 people, you can hear a pin drop and the standing ovation afterwards was one thing, which I sort of would expect, but the quiet, profound silence and the darkness was unforgettable." Despite its unique story-telling devices, the film -- in theaters Friday -- is a meditation on humanity, according to Lillard. "It's a little weird and awkward, outside the box. There's so much Doom's Day talk [in reality]," he said. "Here's this movie that is this beautiful articulation of the wonder of life." Because of his talent and sensibilities, Flanagan was a natural choice as a partner for Lillard's high-concept spirits company, which tells an ongoing story through 16 different product drops. "Each bottle has the next chapter of the story," Lillard added. "The whole thing is not what do we sell to a community, but what do we bring to the idea of literary horror, combined with a really delicious, hand-selected Sotol. It's a love language to horror films." Lillard said he and his partners asked Flanagan, who is sober, to be the first "voice of this brand," by writing a story that would be between 10,000 and 12,000 words. "He ended up writing just over 80,000 words," the actor added. Looking back on his career, Lillard said he is grateful that, for the past 30 years or so, he has been able to work consistently in projects he's proud of and that audiences of all ages let him know how much they enjoy. "People have always rooted for me," he said. "I feel like I've gotten a little bit of a comeback and it's really humbling and lovely to have that opportunity and I have been super-lucky," Lillard added. "I really thought I would end up doing Renaissance fairs for the rest of my life [when I was younger]. I really thought I would be the Green Knight at Medieval Times."
Buzz Feed
23-05-2025
- Buzz Feed
AAPI Celebrities' Careers Before Hollywood
Thanks to Hollywood pioneers over the decades, AAPI faces have thankfully become a more familiar presence on our screens. But the road to Hollywood can be a winding one, and before these celebrities found their footing in the industry, there was once a time they had to pay bills, soothe parental concerns, or grapple first with the internal strife of what to do with the rest of their lives. Thus, odd jobs, degrees they hoped to never use, and the potential to veer off into a whole other career path loomed — until they decided to follow the stars! Ken Jeong, as a student at Duke University, had to decide between continuing his medical school studies or pursuing drama. He was accepted into the school's prestigious drama program, but ultimately, due to "lack of Asian American representation in film at the time," he decided to go forth with his medical studies. Upon graduating, he continued performing stand-up while working part-time as an actual doctor, until he booked a part playing a doctor on Knocked Up and decided to follow his ambition to pursue acting full-time. As she was going viral for a satirical rap titled, "My Vag," Awkwafina held down a corporate job as a publicity assistant. That is, until she was fired for mentioning her side gig to her boss. She told CAAM, "The publishing office was my last real job." After, she took on a series of odd jobs, including working at a vegan bodega until she realized, "Awkwafina was bigger than I thought." Then, she made becoming Awkwafina a full-time career. While it was widely reported that Jason Momoa was a model before he booked his first-ever acting gig on Baywatch: Hawaii, that turned out to be a little white lie to make it look like he had credentials on his blank resume, he told Square Mile. He booked the gig, but after his two-year run with the show, he struggled to find roles and faced what he recalled as his "rock bottom." He took a job working as security for a club, which he described as "humbling," borrowing money and couch surfing until he booked his next gig, North Shore, which snowballed into his next set of roles until that iconic break as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. Hong Chau, who wooed critics and audiences in Downsizing and The Whale, told Financial Times she once worked in the accounting department at PBS. Hong, who graduated with a film production degree from Boston University, said, 'I naively thought, at the age of 17, that you could easily get a job with a film degree. I was very wrong.' Public speaking and improv classes helped her overcome her shyness and eventually led the way to acting. She moved to Los Angeles and plugged away, trying to find the right parts and fighting "to get in the room." Keanu Reeves, who we all know as that man we must protect at all costs, has built a long and storied career in Hollywood, leading blockbusters like the Matrix series and the John Wick franchise. He knew he wanted to be an actor at an early age, and while performing on stage, he nabbed an agent, only his early roles weren't like the ones he stars in now. One of his first on-screen gigs included time as a correspondent for Going Great, a children's show interviewing athletes and performers. But role by role, he built up his credits until his big break in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, where he beat out 200 to 300 actors for the role. Before Young Mazino's major roles in Beef and The Last of Us, he was a senior business intelligence analyst at global beauty brand Fresh Beauty while he pursued his acting ambitions on the side. "I was terrified that I would lose my job if they found out I was running to auditions during lunch, or leaving a little early, or using my vacation days at random to shoot short films," he told GOAT. 'What I would do is print out my lines and have them on my lap," he told NBC News. While pretending to type, he would make sure no one was looking and study his lines. The final leap to pursue acting full-time came from his boss at Fresh, who encouraged him to go all in. Before her Golden Globe-winning turn as Toda Mariko in Shōgun, Anna Sawai was the leader of FAKY, a five-person J-pop girl group, for five years before she left to pursue acting. "I'm glad that I had that experience, but I left for a reason," Anna told Entertainment Tonight. After achieving her childhood dreams of becoming a singer, she still harbored a passion for acting. As her agency at the time was more music-focused, she decided to leave behind her life as a J-pop star. She eventually booked roles in critically-lauded shows Giri/Haji and Pachinko and the Fast and Furious franchise. Rich Brian came onto the scene with an unexpected satirical hip-hop track, 'Dat $tick," in 2016. But this was after building up a social media presence on Vine and what was then called Twitter (now X) as a young teen. His lore includes teaching himself English through hip-hop and YouTube as a homeschooled kid in Jakarta, Indonesia. Backed by a baritone, gravelly voice, he transitioned his one-hit wonder (which was covered by Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan) to more boppy hits like "Edamame," which went on to be featured in Super Bowl ads. Before her breakout role in Teen Wolf, Arden Cho was a pageant winner of Miss Korea Chicago and almost pursued a law degree. While on the pre-law track, facing pressure to choose between a stable career in "law, medicine, or engineering," she took theater courses as an elective because she thought it would be "easy." 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Yang, of Silicon Valley and Interior Chinatown, graduated with an economics degree from the University of San Diego, but he can't say he was exactly passionate about his course of study. "That's the easiest major that still pleases your Asian parents," Jimmy told NPR, adding, "I'll say I've done it and I'll figure my life out." After a financial internship at Smith Barney, where he ended up with "panic attacks" from thinking this would be his life for the next 40 years, he decided to get up on stage and dive into the world of stand-up. "Like I said in my book, to me, it was better to disappoint my parents for a couple years than to disappoint myself for the rest of my life, so I had to take a risk," Jimmy shared with Wired. During his come-up, there were also plenty of odd jobs that included selling used cars and DJing at strip clubs. John Cho has long been a fan favorite actor with historic roles in the Harold & Kumar series, the first Asian-American thriller, Searching, and the live-action anime adaptation, Cowboy Bebop. But before all that, before he was that MILF guy in American Pie, he was a UC Berkeley graduate who studied English literature, and a teacher in West Hollywood. "It was easier to get a job teaching than it was to get a job waiting tables," he told Glamour. With acting, he wasn't exactly sure how it would work out. It was the "mid-to-late 90s," and it "just didn't seem like enough jobs out there," he reflected with CAAM. "I didn't foresee myself giving up my second job for a very, very long time." KJ Apa, before his big break with Riverdale, was a passionately talented musician, busking in the streets of downtown Auckland. After a stint on a soap opera, Shortland Street, at 18, KJ packed up his bags for Los Angeles and booked the hit CW show. His character Archie even had a storyline where he grappled with playing football versus becoming a musician, in which KJ was able to showcase his talents. However, KJ is a more talented musician than his character, Teen Vogue reported. "I don't know how to say it, but we're not at the same level, you know what I mean?" KJ said. "Somehow I have to say that in not a cocky way, but he's a beginner." To be fair, it's probably not cocky if he has talents to match. Catch KJ busking here. Charles Melton, another Riverdale alum, was an excellent dog walker before his big break with the show. "I was 26 at the time. For some reason, I couldn't get a job as a waiter," he told Cosmopolitan. "I was working as a take-out guy for a Chinese restaurant in Brentwood. I was walking dogs in the meantime, too." He shared that he was the #1 dog walker on the Wag app and that he walked "over 300 dogs," writing "super-detailed reviews." He said, "I loved getting to know their personalities. Walking dogs, in a way, saved me back then." In fact, he was so popular, even after his break with Riverdale, he would still receive notification requests for walks. Ke Huy Quan, while finding success as a child actor in legendary films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, faced a drought in roles and opportunities in the years after. He went on to graduate from the University of Southern California's film school and worked behind the camera as an assistant stunt choreographer and director. He told NPR, "I spent a long time lying to myself that acting isn't fun anymore." As time passed, he noticed more roles opening up for Asian actors. Everything Everywhere All at Once was the first script he read, and of course, it led to his second breakout role, cinching him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Jamie Chung was once an MTV reality star on The Real World before her Hollywood break. Jamie told People, "I have no shame in my humble beginnings. They kick-started my career." Her passion for acting was discovered through performing skits at Korean Catholic church camp, and after wrapping up a reality TV run and degree at UC Riverside, she followed her passion to Los Angeles. '[I was] so ashamed of failure that I didn't tell anyone what I was doing, not even my parents,' Jamie recalled to Mochi Mag. Fast forward to today, her real world now consists of roles in The Hangover franchise, Once Upon a Time, and Lovecraft Country. Kumail Nanjiani, who famously played a computer whiz on Silicon Valley, actually holds a computer science (and philosophy) degree in real life. He had even spent time working in the field, though he admits it didn't help much with the role. "I was really bad at computer science," he said on Forward. His love for stand-up comedy led him to pursue the craft, but the road wasn't easy. He described the medium as "painful," but "slightly less painful than not doing it.' Then, it was all "tiny steps" that led him to Hollywood. Saweetie, who we all know from reaching the Billboard charts with singles like "Tap In" and "Best Friend," graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in communication with an emphasis in business. She spoke with the Shade Room about her unexpected college job working as a server at a strip club before she made it in her rap career. 'I think people have a misconception of strippers, and the reason why I say that is 'cause I used to work at the strip club myself," she said. "You learn a lot working in those type of environments.' She spoke out against the biases strippers face and made a point about considering the nuances of the role. "It's an interesting job that requires a lot of talents. You have to be smart." She also worked as a coder, a secretary, and even ran her own clothing brand called Money Makin' Mamis while doing background vocals for Kendrick Lamar. And finally, Li Jun Li, who recently appeared in Sinners, started her creative path with dance. A graduate of LaGuardia High's dance program, she fell in love with acting when she auditioned for the school's musicals. Afterwards, on the grind, she took acting classes, attended open calls, bartended, and even worked as a real estate agent. Her trajectory has led to an impressive resume, but she told Schön! the path to getting to where she is now was steep. "I'm very lucky that I live in the years when Hollywood is making this kind of progression at this stage," she said, as over ten years ago, "there were barely any roles for us." Check out more AAPI-centered content by exploring how BuzzFeed celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Of course, the content doesn't end after May. Follow BuzzFeed's A*Pop on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to keep up with our latest AAPI content year-round.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Giant Dinosaurs Take Over Peoria Riverfront Museum
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — The Peoria Riverfront Museum has officially gone prehistoric. Thursday, it roared to life with the opening of a brand-new exhibition: 'The World's Largest Dinosaur.' This immersive display brings visitors face-to-face with some of the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth, sauropods. Some of them grew up to 150 feet or the length of four city buses. The museum's exhibit will feature a life-sized 60-foot-long Mamenchisaurus, with one of the longest necks of any dinosaur. Those long-necked giants are childhood favorites. They were featured in cartoons and the groups features one of the most famous dinos of all time: the Brontosaurus, the 'Thunder Lizard.' The gentle giants — they were plant-eaters unlike their cousins, Tyrannosaurus Rex — are the focus of the new exhibit, which started Thursday and lasts through Sept. 1. 'The World's Largest Dinosaurs,' presented by the Gilmore Foundation, made its Midwest debut from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Along with life-size models, the experience digs deep into the science behind sauropods, exploring everything from how they grew to such enormous sizes to the biology required to keep their massive bodies functioning. Renae Kerrigan, the museum's curator of science, hopes the exhibit does more than just impress with its scale. 'Maybe it makes somebody think about, 'I want to learn more about the other types of dinosaurs that lived on the planet,'' she said. 'Or maybe, 'Well, why aren't there dinosaurs here today? What happened to dinosaurs?' You might start to learn about how birds are actually the descendants of dinosaurs. 'I just hope it inspires people to continue learning more about something that piques their curiosity here at the museum,' Kerrigan said. In addition to the jaw-dropping scale of the displays, the exhibition also delves into the fascinating world of dinosaur eggs, growth patterns, and the biomechanics of how these giants might have pumped blood through their enormous bodies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
