News Release
Carnegie Trees Take On World’s Fair Flair
Holiday family favorites include sing-along, Neapolitan presepio, and activities for kids.
Celebrate the season with one of the great Pittsburgh holiday traditions: the Carnegie Trees at Carnegie Museum of Art.
For the 51st year, the museum’s Hall of Architecture will dazzle visitors with seven grand, 20-foot trees, flanking the museum’s perennial favorite, the Neapolitan presepio, a beautiful 18th-century Nativity. Each tree will be stylishly decorated in the theme of world’s fairs, celebrating Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851–1939, now on view in the Heinz Galleries at Carnegie Museum of Art.
As in past years, several organizations from around Pittsburgh have lent their own creative flair to each of the trees. This year’s participants include:
- The Women’s Committee of Carnegie Museum of Art
- Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh
- The Andy Warhol Museum
- The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
- The Frick Art & Historical Center
Along with the Carnegie Trees, a visit to the museum’s Neapolitan presepio, one of the finest Nativity scenes of its kind, has been a Pittsburgh holiday tradition since 1957. Handcrafted between 1700 and 1830, the presepio teems with lifelike figures and colorful details that re-create the Nativity within a vibrant and detailed panorama of 18th-century Italian village life. More than 100 superbly modeled human and angelic figures, along with animals, accessories, and architectural elements, cover 250 square feet and create a memorable depiction of the Nativity as seen through the eyes of Neapolitan artisans and collectors.
From special holiday drop-in activities to day-long art and science camps, families and kids will find plenty to do at Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History this holiday season.
Preview Party
Preview this year’s holiday splendor with the Women’s Committee.
Opening Celebration
November 28, 2012
5:30–8 p.m.
The Hall of Architecture and Hall of Sculpture
$65 – individual tickets
$550 – group of ten tickets
For more information, or to RSVP, please call 412.622.3325.
2012 Holiday Programs
Family Sing-along with Frank Cappelli
December 22, 2012
2–4 p.m.
The Hall of Architecture
Join singer/songwriter Frank Cappelli for an afternoon featuring a lively and festive sing-along of favorite seasonal tunes. Have fun with the family in the Hall of Architecture, where the Carnegie Trees and the famous Neapolitan presepio will be on view. Frank Cappelli is perhaps best known for his television show Cappelli & Co., which aired on Nickelodeon. He is an Emmy Award-winning artist and father with a passion for bringing joy to families through music.
Drop-in Tours
November 29–January 6
Daily, noon–12:30 p.m. / Sunday 12:15–12:45 p.m.
Neapolitan presepio
Daily guided drop-in tours are free with museum admission and meet in front of the museum store. Teachers earn Act 48 hours for all tours.
Winter in the Discovery Room
Tuesday–Friday, 1–3 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Sunday, 1–4 p.m.
Free with museum admission
Experience the wonder of winter! Learn about holiday greenery by seeing and smelling live spruce, pine, and other festive plants. Touch a caribou’s winter white fur, investigate animals on the Discovery Room tree, listen to the calls of wild birds, and more.
Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History One-Day Camps
December 27 & 28
9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Single day: $40 ($35 members)
Post-camp care 3–6 p.m. ($15/day) is available.
Experience the fun and excitement of summer camp in December! Sign up for a single day or two days of fun. The museum campus is a field for discovery and creativity where kids investigate science and make art.
Registration
Call 412.622.3288 or email GroupVisits@carnegiemuseums.org.
Art Camps
Thursday, December 27
Ages 6–7: Masters of Disguise: Museum Detectives
Create costumes and disguises inspired by artworks in the museum’s collection, and find clues in the galleries to solve a museum mystery!
Ages 8–10: Painting My Masterpiece
See the different ways artists use paint, color, and texture. Experiment with techniques to make your own masterpiece and fanciful frame.
Ages 11–13: Drawing: More Than Meets the Eye
There’s much more to drawing than pencil and paper. Capture what you see in rough sketches and polished drawings with a variety of media.
Friday, December 28
Ages 6–7: Portrait Party
Experiment with different media and techniques to make portraits of yourself and your friends. Discover artists in the galleries who create portraits in unexpected ways.
Ages 8–10: Draw What You See
Spend a day drawing and playing games in the museum’s spaces. Experiment with traditional and unusual artist materials.
Ages 11–13: Painting
Try painting for the first time or take your current skills to the next level.
Natural History Winter Camps
Thursday, December 27
Ages 6–7: Land of the Giants
This camp is all about dinosaurs! Explore Mesozoic mysteries from the terrific Triassic through the crazy Cretaceous. Compare the skulls and teeth of predators and prey and investigate how dinosaurs digested food. Study specimens that predict colors and patterns of dinosaur skin, and watch your own dinosaur adaptations evolve as you make a “Me-a-saurus.”
Ages 8–10: Extreme Events
Our planet is subject to incredible natural forces that affect life on Earth over and over again. Explore how people, animals, and ecosystems have responded to natural disasters throughout geologic time. Make models showing climate change that occurred after the Cretaceous extinctions, and investigate specimens throughout the museum to understand how animals evolved in response to extreme events.
Ages 11–13: Secrets of Ancient Cultures
Decode puzzles left behind by ancient peoples from around the world and throughout history. Learn some of the techniques of archaeological excavation in a hands-on dig that unearths local history. Delve into experimental archaeology through design challenges such as mixing rock art pigments.
Friday, December 28
Ages 6–7: Rock On!
Leave no stone unturned as you discover what makes geology rock. Observe pristine specimens of rocks, minerals, and fossils in our exhibit halls. In the laboratory classroom, you’ll experiment with properties of minerals, explore many shapes of crystals, and find out how fossils form.
Ages 8–10: Eye Spy
Do you have an eye for detail? Do you like to puzzle through patterns? Learn how your brain decodes fine detail by experimenting with light and color. Use a microscope to compare the eye structure of insects, fish, and mammals. Investigate a real cow eyeball using age-appropriate dissection tools and techniques.
Ages 11–13: Exploring Ancient Egypt
Decode puzzles left behind by ancient Egyptians. Translate ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, interpret murals, and write your own secret messages. Experiment with models of desert and delta environments to investigate the challenges of life in ancient Egypt
Inclement Weather
Should hazardous conditions result in cancellation of programs, announcements will be made on television stations KDKA, WTAE, and WPXI.
Adopt-A-Bird-Band
Give them the gift that lasts long after the holidays have flown! By adopting a bird band for yourself or a loved one, you can personally support bird migration and conservation research at Powdermill Nature Reserve which provides vital data about bird migration, habitat loss, and climate change. Adoptions range from $25 to $100 and include adoption certificates, replica bird bands, behind-the-scenes tours, and more! Time is running out to take the Laurel Foundation Challenge: If you make your adoption before December 31, 2012, the Laurel Foundation will match your adoption donation dollar for dollar, up to a total of $20,000!
Visit the website at www.carnegiemnh.org/ADOPT to browse benefits and available birds Bird banding and the Adopt-A-Bird-Band program are projects of Powdermill Nature Reserve, the environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Carnegie Trees Committee
Melissa Ferrari, Chair
Tara Safar, Chair
Betsy Amis
Vange Beldecos
Mernie Berger
Bonnie Blaxter
Ann Bridges
Sheryl Broadhurst
Jessica Brown
Maria Burgwin
Nancy S. Chaplin
Cynthia Cooley
Gez Ebbert
Lowrie Ebbert
Sandy Eckstrom
Ranny Ferguson
Jane Flucker
Nancy Follett
Lou Gailliot
Barbara Granito
Myrna Hackney
Carol Heppner
Georgianna Hillenbrand
Alysia Hoyt
Janet Hunt
Carole Kamin
Betsy Kampmeinert
Suzanne McLaughlin
Gail Murphy
Jennifer Muse
Alden Read
Brenda Roger
Mardi Royston
Mandy Ticknor
Sybil Veeder
Mary Weber
Susanne Wilkinson
The Women’s Committee of Carnegie Museum of Art
Founded in 1957, the Women’s Committee is dedicated to furthering the interests of Carnegie Museum of Art and promoting its cultural and educational value in the community. Since its inception, the Women’s Committee has funded the purchase of art for the collections, contributed to the museum’s infrastructure and gallery renovations, and participated as a major donor to museum endowment and capital campaigns. The Women’s Committee operates as an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation registered with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Carnegie Museum of Art
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art was founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895. One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, it is nationally and internationally recognized for its distinguished collection of American and European works from the 16th century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie Museum of Art, is dedicated to enhancing understanding of the physical environment through its exhibitions, collections, and public programs. For more information about Carnegie Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit our web site at www.cmoa.org.
Contact:
Jonathan Gaugler
412.688.8690
gauglerj@carnegiemuseums.org