![]() ![]() ![]() "The Creative Discovery Museum has really been perfectly positioned to be a part of Chattanooga's downtown revitalization and has proven to be a great resource for this community," Schulson said in a telephone interview. Schulson said he and his family have made Chattanooga their home. Schulson previously served as director of the Dallas Museum of History for nine years and worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. "Henry has been an incredible leader and a gift to this institution and community," Christie Kizer Burbank, the museum's board chairwoman, said in a statement. (READ MORE: Visitors top 5 million at Creative Discovery Museum) Most recently, Schulson spearheaded the Ignite Discovery capital campaign, which helped fund museum renovations and the planned opening in September of the gallery, UnEarthed. Under his direction, the museum also introduced free Family Nights, Sensory Nights and the first Museums for All program in Tennessee, providing thousands of families with free or discounted admission to the museum. Schulson also helped develop a partnership with Oak Ridge National Lab to make the museum a national hub for education programs on biofuels and alternative energy sources. ![]() Working with the city, the Hunter Museum of American Art and the Tennessee Aquarium on the 21st Century Waterfront Trust Plan, the children's museum opened RiverPlay in 2002 and the Rooftop Fun Factory in 2005. Under Schulson's direction, the museum received 10 national grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and helped secure a national leadership grant for the Hamilton County school district's Museum Magnet program. (GALLERY: Little FarmHouse at Creative Discovery Museum) With an annual budget of $3.6 million, the museum has a staff of about 75 employees and is completing a $12 million upgrade and expansion this year. The Creative Discovery Museum has served more than 5.5 million visitors since opening in 1995 and posted record attendance in the first quarter of 2023. "The museum has become a vital educational resource for schools and an institution loved and embraced by children and families throughout our community." "It has been so exciting to see the growth and development of both the museum and Chattanooga over the last 26 years," Schulson said in a statement. Schulson, who has led the museum through a number of expansions and changes, said the nonprofit organization has begun looking for his successor. The 68-year-old president of the downtown attraction and learning center came to Chattanooga in 1997, two years after the museum opened. After 26 years as head of the Creative Discovery Museum, Henry Schulson will retire this fall. ![]()
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