On Sunday, September 8, 12:00 – 4:00 pm, the Bruce Museum will present Bruce ConsTRUCKS, a day of free family fun to celebrate the start of the Museum's exciting new renovation and construction project.
Open to the entire community, Bruce ConsTRUCKS will feature construction trucks provided by Eversource and other vehicles for kids to explore, an array of children's crafts and other hands-on activities, a visit by the "Bubble Bus," a live performance by the popular children's band Songs for Seeds, kegs and cans of cold brew coffee courtesy of Rise Brewing Co., cookies from Sweet Lisa's, food and ice cream trucks, and more.
The day will feature a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the public to draw on our gallery walls before renovation work begins. This may be your only chance to leave your mark on the Museum's walls – sketch a picture, write us a note, express yourself!
This free, public celebration will also give the community the opportunity to learn more about the Bruce Museum's renovation and expansion plans – and to join the community-wide support of the Campaign for the New Bruce. Visitors will be able to view informational displays about the renovation and expansion project, and Museum leaders and volunteers from across the community will be on hand to describe the transformative impact that the New Bruce will have.
Families with young children will be drawn not only to the construction trucks, but also to the hands-on craft activities stationed near the vehicles. Staffed by the Museum's Educators and volunteers, the activities include:
- Truck Sculptures: Children can design their very own truck from paper and then fill it up it with soft materials to create a "puffy truck" sculpture.
- Tools of the Trade: With this craft activity, kids can make their own tool belts that they can wear home.
- Paint Chip Collages: Pick out your favorite colors to create your own collage out of paint chips.
- Design Time: Build like the best artists and engineers with our playful Imagination Playground blocks.
- Truck Finders: A hands-on sensory activity for toddlers.
- Build a Museum: We'll set you up with materials so you can build your own New Bruce!
The transformative capital expansion and renovation project – the first since a $4.3 million expansion in 1992 – is well under way. The centerpiece of the New Bruce is a three-story, 40,000 square-foot addition that will more than double the size of the current Museum, offering more space for both art and science. Designed by the prestigious New Orleans firm of Eskew + Dumez + Ripple, the building will open directly onto Bruce Park and feature a delicate striated façade of cast stone and glass inspired by the surfaces of Connecticut's rock quarries.
In June, the Bruce Museum announced a $15 million lead gift from William L. Richter. The gift, the largest to the campaign to date, will support the construction of the new art wing.
The next phase of the New Bruce project will begin in September with the renovation of the Museum's current changing gallery spaces. These galleries will close on September 1 and re-open on February 1, 2020 with the installation of major new art and science exhibitions. The Museum will remain open during this renovation phase, with exhibitions in the Bantle Lecture Gallery and permanent science gallery and an array of educational and enrichment programs for visitors of all ages.
We would like to thank Bruce ConsTRUCKS Co-Chairs Felicity Kostakis, Cricket Lockhart, Julia Nusseibeh, and Candace Procaccini for their vision and leadership. And we are grateful for support from Eversource, Cummings & Lockwood, LLC, Felicity Kostakis, Dominick and Matt Lio of Empire ECS Construction Management, Julia and Jamal Nusseibeh, Candace Procaccini, Rise Brewing Co., and Sweet Lisa's Exquisite Cakes, as well as media sponsor Moffly Media/Greenwich Magazine. For details about Bruce ConsTRUCKS, click on this link or call 203-869-0376.