Two Centre County nonprofits have been awarded grants to support their general operations, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) announced on Monday.
Discovery Space, the interactive science center at 1224 N. Atherton St., State College, received $14,544 from PHMC’s Cultural and Historical Support Grants. The Centre County Historical Society, 1001 E. College Ave., State College, received $4,000 from the same program.
State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, whose 77th District includes Discovery Space, and state Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, whose 82nd District includes the Historical Society, applauded the grants.
“Through this grant, we continue to support Pennsylvanians’ opportunities to learn more about the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Conklin said in a statement.
“Congrats to Centre County Historical Society for receiving $4,000 in grant funding from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission,” Takac wrote in a social media post. “These funds will be used to support general operations and their important work of preserving our county’s history through enriching programming, collections and publications.”
The PHMC grant program aims “to strengthen Pennsylvania’s museum community by supporting the general operations of eligible museums and official county historical societies that are not supported by other state agency funding programs,” according to a news release.
Eligible organizations must have annual operating budgets of more than $100,000 and at least one full-time professional staff person. Grants are awarded on a formula based on a percentage of the organization’s annual operating budget.
A total of $1.9 million in Cultural and Historical Support Grants were awarded this year to 158 eligible museums and official county historical societies in 58 counties.
