Large gift grants kids free admission to Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center

Starting Sept. 1, anyone 17 or under will get free admission to the Heinz History Center.

That’s thanks to an $11.5 million gift from Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin, the local philanthropists who recently made large gifts to the Carnegie Science Center and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The History Center announced the new gift Tuesday at an event in the museum’s big first-floor space, right next to the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Plaza, a space outside the Center’s cafe.

“This may be one of the most impactful gifts ever received by the History Center,” said Center president and CEO Andy Masich. He said free admission would also apply to school groups.

“Everybody should have an opportunity to go to a museum, and money really shouldn’t be that barrier,” said Carole Kamin.

An unspecified amount of the $11.5 million would also support the museum’s recently announced expansion, more than doubling its square footage in the Strip District.

The History Center is one of Pittsburgh’s most-visited museums, drawing nearly 350,000 patrons last year. Masich said the gift would enable free admissions by adding to the museum’s endowment, with investment income covering the revenue lost to the free admissions, which he said was less than $1 million a year.

The Kamins, who made their fortune in real estate, have also recently given large gifts to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Science Center, the latter of which will shortly be renamed in their honor.

The family are also longtime friends of Masich. On Tuesday, Carole Kamin said her husband credited Masich with saving the Fort Pitt Museum, which closed for several months starting in 2009 before its management was assumed by the History Center. Daniel Kamin attended the announcement. He used a wheelchair and did not address the public.

Carole Kamin said she hoped the gift would spark more philanthropy in town.

“Even a small-scale, very small amounts of money can really help the nonprofit,” she said. “That’s our hope that people start giving a little more, if they can.”