The Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears Dynamic Earth Wing
CLEVELAND—April 26, 2024—The Cleveland Museum of Natural History has received a major gift from Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears in support of its $150 million transformation project. This donation brings the Searses’ total campaign contributions to $10 million. In recognition of their outstanding support, the Museum will name one of its two new wings, the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears Dynamic Earth Wing, in their honor.
“In addition to the substantial impact of their giving, the Searses’ dedicated advocacy and philanthropic leadership have inspired many to follow their lead,” says Sonia Winner, the Museum’s President & CEO. “Thanks in no small part to the Searses’ commitment and generosity, Cleveland will soon have a state-of-the-art natural history museum unlike any other in the world.”
Since becoming Museum members in the 1980s, Sally and Larry Sears have been among the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s most steadfast supporters. In 2014, Sally Sears was elected to the Museum’s Board of Directors. In 2021, she became the first woman to serve as the Museum’s Board Chair. She also serves as co-chair of the Museum’s Transforming the World of Discovery campaign and has served on the Executive, Governance and Nominating, and Advancement Committees. Additionally, Sally Sears contributed to the design, development, and beta testing of the Museum’s new galleries, participating in weekly meetings with Museum staff and design partners throughout 2020 and 2021. In 2023, she was named one of Crain’s Cleveland Business’s Notable Nonprofit Board Leaders, an award that recognizes “a commitment to the public good that inspires and elevates.”
The Searses have supported the Museum’s Transforming the World of Discovery campaign since its inception, helping to build momentum for the project and funding key steps in the process. In 2016, they funded the creation of the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears Garden, located at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and East Boulevard. In 2020, they supported the development of Current Science, a dynamic exhibit space in which Museum researchers and educators share their work with the public. The Searses have also amplified their impact by motivating others to follow their lead. In 2021, they put forth a challenge for the Museum’s Board of Directors to collectively donate $5 million and committed to matching those donations with another $5 million. Not only was the challenge successful, but it also helped the Museum to achieve 100% Board participation in campaign giving.
Along with a gallery called the Evolving Life Wing, the Sears Dynamic Earth Wing is one of two new wings that will open when the Museum’s transformation is complete in December 2024. Encompassing a number of other new and reimagined spaces, the transformation and expansion will increase the Museum’s footprint to more than 375,000 square feet, with more than 2 acres of outdoor visitor areas. Setting aside the linear, discipline-based approach of traditional natural history museums, the reimagined galleries will feature completely new exhibits and experiences that instead tell a unified story of life on Earth, using Museum specimens as the evidence for that story.
In the new Sears Dynamic Earth Wing, visitors will explore the 4.6-billion-year history of our planet and the processes that make life possible. Through the gallery’s key interactive experience, visitors will discover that we are all stardust—made up of the same elements that formed the Universe. Throughout the wing, engaging exhibits will take visitors on a journey through the cycles that shape the Earth, revealing how all living things are connected to the physical world. Along the way, visitors will interact with the fossil record through notable examples from the Museum’s collection of more than 5 million objects and specimens.
The Searses’ desire to support the Museum’s transformation was driven by a passion for enhancing the cultural and academic vitality of Cleveland. “The integration of science, collections, and dynamic content in the Museum’s new galleries will help people understand why natural history matters,” says Sally Sears.
“The transformation is also a great opportunity to enhance the Museum’s infrastructure for research and ensure the Museum remains a world-class center for the advancement of scientific knowledge,” adds Larry Sears.
When choosing to leave their legacy with the Sears Dynamic Earth Wing, the Searses were drawn to both the stunning new exterior it presents to the public and the interactive, innovative exhibits that visitors will discover within.
“Before, the Museum was a hidden gem,” says Larry Sears. “Now its dramatic architecture mirrors the glacier-carved landscape of our region, and you’ll be able to look in and see dinosaurs from Wade Oval Drive.”
Sally Sears is especially inspired by the concept visitors will encounter when they enter the Sears Dynamic Earth Wing and engage in its key interactive experience. “We are all the same, and we are all made from the same material that shaped the Earth,” she says.
Ultimately, the Searses hope that the transformed Museum will be a beacon for science literacy—a place where community members can gather to connect with the natural world and explore the relevance of science to their lives.
“The Cleveland Museum of Natural History has always been a beloved institution,” says Sally Sears. “Now it will be an essential destination in Northeast Ohio and beyond.”
About the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Transformation Project
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s $150 million transformation project is an unprecedented reinvention that will align the Museum’s architecture with its mission of instilling a passion for nature and science in all learners. The Transforming the World of Discovery campaign has raised $140 million for this project, which will expand the Museum's building to more than 375,000 square feet and its outdoor visitor areas to more than 2 acres. The transformation project aims to broaden community access and help all stakeholders understand their connection with the natural world and the relevance of science to their daily lives.
The latest milestone in this project was the opening in October 2023 of a welcoming new Visitor Hall, a free community space that showcases eight of the Museum’s most iconic objects and specimens. This dramatic, 14,650-square-foot gallery features ceilings that soar to 21 feet and stunning new exhibits placed along the Douglas McCreery and Dr. Laurie McCreery Timeline of the Earth, which marks key events in the history of the Universe. Slated for completion in late 2024, the Museum’s transformation encompasses a complete reimagining of the Museum campus and all its exhibits.
Pioneering a new model for natural history museums, the redesigned exhibits will highlight the Museum’s world-class assets while reflecting its role as a trusted community resource. The Museum appreciates the generous support from community members, corporations, foundations, and government grants that has helped to make this transformation a reality.
About the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History illuminates the world around us and inspires visitors to engage with the natural forces that shape their lives. Since its founding in 1920, the Museum has pioneered scientific research to advance knowledge across diverse fields of study and used its outstanding collections, which encompass more than 5 million artifacts and specimens, to
deepen the public’s understanding of the dynamic connections between humans and nature. Through its Natural Areas Program, the Museum stewards more than 12,000 acres of protected ecosystems across northern Ohio. A community gathering place, educational center, and research institution, the Museum is a vital resource that serves Cleveland and the nation. For more information, visit CMNH.org.
Media Contact
Samantha Guenther
External Communications Manager
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
216.403.4557
sguenther@cmnh.org
