The Museum celebrated centenarian philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis at a special ceremony and luncheon today to honor her generous support of the
Museum’s new Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program, the first freestanding master’s degree program offered by a museum to prepare science teachers. The ceremony included the official dedication of the new Kathryn W. Davis Science Teaching Classroom, which will be the main educational center for candidates in the MAT program.
“It’s very necessary today to learn about science,” says Mrs. Davis. “My own science education was slim. The quality of the classroom experience did not help me understand the excitement inherent in scientific discovery. I think this program will provide a very different experience. As these teacher candidates are engaged and excited by this program, they will help others to be the same.”
Museum President Ellen V. Futter offered welcome remarks for the ceremony. Speakers also included Mrs. Davis, Museum Trustee Christopher C. Davis, who is Kathryn Davis’s grandson, New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John B. King Jr., and New York State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal.
“The support of Kathryn W. Davis will help prepare the graduates of the Museum’s MAT program to foster a lifelong love of learning and science in a new generation of students,” says Museum President Ellen V. Futter. “This innovative program will give our MAT graduates a deep understanding of science content, of the practice of scientific inquiry, and of the relevance of science to students’ daily lives.”
Mrs. Davis’s gift builds on the support of $2.625 million from the New York State Education Department, awarded through a competitive grant program created with federal Race to the Top funds. The Museum also received a grant of $2.8 million from the National Science Foundation to study the effectiveness of this innovative approach to teacher preparation.
For more on the Museum’s pioneering MAT program, watch the video below: