THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HIStory 2012/13 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY 1 LeTTer FroM The BoArd PreSIdeNT The 2012-2013 fiscal year has been an extraordinary year for our Museum— one of growth, discovery and innovation. On any given day, the critical work being done by The Cleveland Museum of Natural History has a profound impact regionally, nationally and across the globe. As president of the Board of Trustees, it’s my privilege to report our Museum’s many accomplishments and progress of the year as a result of this incredible work. Our Museum is a valued resource for science education and discovery, conservation, sustainability and regional economic growth. Inspiring people of all ages to experience the wonders of science and natural history is at the heart of our mission, and to answer our community’s ever-growing need for science education programs, we’ve expanded our award-winning programming and outreach. This past year, we’ve also made meaningful and visible improvements to our day-to-day operations and visitor experience by making much-needed updates to our facilities and exhibits. We have much to celebrate on the financial front in the 2012-2013 fiscal year as the Museum balanced its operating budget for the 36th consecutive year. With the generous support of our donors, the 2012-2013 Annual Fund reached a record $1,256,066, representing 11 percent of our total revenues. An enduring culture of fiscal stability and sound governance, combined with a strong endowment and private support base, has also earned the Museum the highest rating from Charity A. Chace Anderson Navigator, America’s premier independent charity evaluator. President, Board of Trustees In addition to these financial metrics, I am particularly proud of the management team that has developed over the last three years under the leadership of Dr. Evalyn Gates. In all facets of operations and science, we are growing more proficient by the day, and more focused on our mission. It is gratifying to watch the team push forward. Lastly, after many years of planning, the Board of Trustees voted in September 2012, to go forward with a comprehensive capital campaign to renew and re- envision our Museum’s facilities, launching the most ambitious capital expansion in our 93-year history. This remarkable transformation will vastly improve every physical aspect of our Museum from exhibit galleries, to public spaces, to the visibility of our collections and to the visitor’s interaction with our curatorial and educational staff. Most importantly, this transformation enhances our Museum’s ability to fulfill its mission of science education at a significantly deeper and engaging level. Since announcing our vision for the future, we have received an overwhelmingly positive response from stakeholders and the broader community giving us confidence that we will realize the project’s completion by our 100th anniversary in 2020. I am grateful to the Board of Trustees, our dedicated staff and for the exceptional support of so many who believe in the value of our Museum’s work. Your generous support is a true investment in our community and ensures a vibrant and prosperous future for our extraordinary Museum. 2 LeTTer FroM The exeCuTIve dIreCTor ANd Ceo It was an exceptional year marked by new discoveries, innovative educational programs and significant milestones in the Museum’s plans to transform our facilities and exhibits. Museum curators traveled across the globe collecting specimens and fossils, sending updates and tweets from Rwanda, Peru, China and Ethiopia. Paleontologist Dr. Michael Ryan made headlines with the discovery of three new dinosaur species, while archaeologist Dr. Brian Redmond and his team, including students and Museum members, completed excavations of a 3,000-year-old site in Ohio. Our collections were enriched with the acquisition of one of the largest collections of modern African pollen, a critical research tool for paleontologists working to reconstruct prehistoric environments. It was a banner year for education, from our award-winning distance learning programming that reached a record number of students, to our newest collaboration with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. “Inspire: Reach Every Child,” brought science to life for every second grade student and teacher in the district. Kirtlandia Research Internships offered college students unique opportunities to work with curators, while the Smead Discovery Center celebrated 10 years of engaging our youngest visitors. We strengthened existing partnerships throughout the region, and began a new program with the Cleveland Public Library to offer greater access for families across the city. Visitors were delighted with a rich program of special exhibits. Whales | Tohorā showcased rare specimens from New Zealand, while Megalodon drew large Evalyn Gates, Ph.D. crowds in an extended run. Behind the scenes, a new Human Origins Gallery was Executive Director and CEO created (unveiled September 2013). Its centerpiece is a fully fleshed-out “Lucy,” crafted by Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Museum artisans and internationally renowned paleoartist John Gurche. Sustainability and conservation remain a top priority. More than 5,800 acres of rare ecosystems are now under Museum stewardship. The ninth annual Conservation Symposium was a great success. A special symposium, Building with Nature, presented to a packed auditorium the latest in green building technologies and how we might incorporate them into our new facilities. And in June, the PNC SmartHome became the first certified passive house in Ohio! The Centennial Campaign launched in September, and we have begun the exhilarating work of designing an innovative, ultra-sustainable and highly immersive Museum that will break down the walls between science and the community, invite a diverse audience to discover the wonders of science and nature, provide exciting science education for students of all ages, and facilitate the important work of our curators. This incredible year reflects the hard work and dedication of our staff, the passion and guidance of our Board of Trustees, and the very generous support of our donors. Thank you. I am deeply appreciative of your help, support and encouragement, especially as we move forward with our exciting plans to build for the future! 3 Science The evolution of “Lucy” The Museum now boasts the world’s most scientifically accurate and complete reconstruction of “Lucy,” the famous 3.2 million-year-old human ancestor. Visitors were introduced to this new skeletal mount of the species Australopithecus afarensis, as well as an amazingly lifelike sculpture when the new Human Origins Gallery was unveiled in September 2013. 4 Science The evolution of “Lucy” hroughout the year, the Museum’s Lucy has served as an important reference that Exhibits staff worked in collaboration has expanded researchers’ understanding of “From a scientific point Twith Curator of Physical Anthropology the morphology and anatomy of the earliest of view, she belongs to Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Ph.D., to redesign human ancestors and increased our knowledge an early human ancestor the skeleton and develop content for the of human evolution. species that existed new gallery. Denise Su, Ph.D., curator of “While no longer the oldest human right before the first paleobotany and paleoecology, also advised on ancestor discovered or most complete fossil appearance of Homo, gallery content. specimen, Lucy is nonetheless an icon of Museum artisans cast 102 pieces in resin and paleoanthropology,” said Haile-Selassie. “From the genus that includes painstakingly reassembled Lucy’s mount to a scientific point of view, she belongs to an humans. As a result, her reflect current scientific knowledge of the early human ancestor species that existed right species is positioned at a hominin’s anatomy based on fossil evidence. It before the first appearance of Homo, the genus very pivotal point in our features a newly sculpted and reshaped rib cage that includes humans. As a result, her species is handcrafted from foam and a spine that more positioned at a very pivotal point in our quest quest to understand our accurately represents the curvature of the lower to understand our origins.” origins.” back. New elements were added, including The new reconstruction is based on knowledge casts of portions of the original fossil’s lower from specimens of her species recently — Yohannes Haile- leg and upper arm that were not in the original discovered in Ethiopia that indicate Lucy had Selassie, Ph.D. reconstruction, a symmetrical left hand and neither a funnel-shaped (ape-like) nor barrel- a knee cap cast from the Museum’s Hamann- shaped (human-like) rib cage. The shape was Todd osteological collection of human bones. an intermediate between humans and apes. Sharing the spotlight is a fully “fleshed-out” Lucy’s new home is contemporary in design. reconstruction created by an internationally It features 40 specimens, fossil casts and renowned paleoartist. It details the muscular taxidermy mounts. Lucy shares space with build and facial features of the upright walking newly acquired skeletal casts of Ardipithecus human ancestor. Posed in a striding stance, kadabba, Australopithecus anamensis, the masterful creation is arranged back to back Australopithecus sediba and Homo erectus with the skeletal cast, bringing this ancient (Turkana Boy). creature to life in amazing detail. The Human Origins Gallery highlights the Lucy’s partial skeleton was discovered in Museum’s role as one of the key centers for Ethiopia in 1974 by an international team evolutionary studies in the world. It also serves of scientists led by former Museum curator as a preview of the new exhibits that will be Donald Johanson, Ph.D. When Lucy was developed as part of the Museum’s major found, 40 percent of the skeleton was present, transformation project. representing the oldest and most complete early human ancestor ever discovered. 5 Inspire: Reach every child “The Inspire program Launched in fall 2012, “Inspire: brings every 2nd grader in the Cleveland Reach Every Child” is a program Metropolitan School in partnership with the Cleveland district into the Museum Metropolitan School District (CMSD).