Pittsburgh leaders honor 5 museums that earned national recognition in USA Today rankings
Five of Pittsburgh's museums are being recognized both nationally and locally, and city leaders say it comes at the perfect time.
According to USA Today's 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and the Heinz History Center took the top spot in their respective categories.
The Kamin Science Center landed at No. 3 and the Moonshot Museum at No. 9 on the list of best science museums. The August Wilson African American Cultural Center also made the list of best free museums at No. 10.
"They're staples in our community, and I think it was really important to get this message out now, knowing we're going to have hundreds of thousands of people here in a couple of weeks. Let's talk about the culture in Pittsburgh," Mayor Corey O'Connor said.
"Pittsburgh punches way above its weight class when it comes to art and culture, as evidenced by my colleague here," said Heinz History Center President and CEO Andy Masich.
"I think it's very telling where we're moving ahead as a city, going from a blue-collar place, where we're known for steel, and how we're pushing into education and now we're in this ed tech forefront, and to be able to be a manifestation of that is something we don't take for granted," added Dr. Jimyse Brown, executive directoir of the Moonshot Museum.
These five museums are unique, but all help showcase what makes Pittsburgh special, which is why Mayor O'Connor officially proclaimed this week as Museum Week.
"Any recognition we can do locally is only going to help nationally," the mayor said.
"If you're interested in history, we have a museum for that. Space, we have a museum for that. Science, we have a museum for that. Whatever your interest is, we have something to meet it, and that's really special," first lady Katie O'Connor said.
While they're educational, the museums also help drive tourism and economic impact, something the city hopes to see for the 2026 NFL Draft.
"We think Pittsburgh stands out because we do have a depth of character and history and collaboration," VisitPittsburgh's Jerad Bachar said.
