$160 million gift from environmental philanthropist Ed Bass enables museum revamp promoting eco-tourism

After a significant four-year enhancement, the Yale Peabody Museum is set to welcome the public once again by unveiling an array of new features and exhibits designed with modern sensibilities and a focus on environmental education.

This grand reopening marks a new chapter in the museum’s storied history, introducing vibrant galleries, state-of-the-art educational facilities, and meticulously reconfigured dinosaur displays, including a notably more dynamic Brontosaurus.

Visitors are encouraged to schedule their visits via the Peabody Museum’s website, as a reservation system will be in place for the initial 30 days post-reopening to accommodate the expected influx of guests smoothly.

Emphasizing inclusivity and interactive learning, the museum now offers complimentary access to everyone, positioning itself as a hub for both innovative research and engaging public exhibitions that narrate the evolving story of our planet. This initiative is supported by a $160 million donation from philanthropist Edward P. Bass, in collaboration with Centerbrook Architects and Planners of Connecticut, enhancing the museum’s gallery space by over 50%.

This expansion not only augments the display capacity for the museum’s extensive collection of 14 million items but also introduces new facilities for research, technologically equipped classrooms, and a dedicated educational center for K-12 students, particularly benefiting those from the New Haven area.

The museum’s transformation, funded by Bass among other contributors, aligns it with the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art, all of which now perpetually offer free admission.

Furthermore, the renovation has significantly increased the museum’s educational space, incorporating cutting-edge imaging, sound, and 3D-printing studios. These enhancements allow for hands-on learning experiences with the museum’s collections, using the latest technological advancements.

The reimagined exhibition spaces, distributed across three floors for improved navigability, feature the museum’s famous dinosaur and prehistoric mammal fossils in updated poses that reflect contemporary scientific understanding.

These adjustments portray dinosaurs as active and agile creatures, countering their previously misunderstood nature. The Brontosaurus, in particular, has been repositioned to exude a sense of liveliness, with adjustments to its tail and neck encouraging visitors to view these ancient animals in a new light.

“Ed” Bass is a businessman, financier, philanthropist, and environmentalist who lives in Fort Worth, Texas. He financed the Biosphere 2 project, an artificial closed ecological system built between 1987 and 1991. He is the chairman of Fine Line, an investment and venture capital management firm in Fort Worth, and chairman of the board of directors of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a philanthropic organization.