Michael Bloomberg gives $155 million for a public science hall in Boston

On 19 August 2026 the Museum of Science in Boston announced that its new William and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Science Common would open on 10 October 2026, supported by a $155 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the largest in the museum's history. The 10,000-square-foot venue overlooks the Charles River and is named for Michael Bloomberg's late parents, William and Charlotte Bloomberg of Medford, Massachusetts.

The space is designed as a civic stage for science rather than a conventional exhibit hall. It will host conversations with researchers and science communicators, conferences and public events on pressing subjects including artificial intelligence, climate change, public health and space exploration. Immersive media and live-streaming equipment are built in, so that events can reach audiences far beyond Boston. Museum president Tim Ritchie said the institution believes the future of science is participatory and that science should belong to everyone.

For Bloomberg the gift is personal. He grew up in Medford, just outside Boston, and says childhood visits to the Museum of Science sparked his lifelong love of learning and problem-solving. He called his parents the most important teachers he and his sister, Marjorie Tiven, ever had. Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported the museum for years, funding the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Science Education Center in 2016, the 2011 renovation of the Charles Hayden Planetarium, and computer science curricula and internships.

Bloomberg, the founder of the financial data company Bloomberg L.P. and three-term mayor of New York City, grew up in a Jewish family in Medford and is among the largest philanthropists in the world, having given away tens of billions of dollars. His best-known gifts include more than $3 billion to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, which made its medical school tuition-free in 2024.