Pacific Science Center Secures Historic $5.25M Grant from The Muglia Family Foundation to Offset State Funding Losses to 'Science on Wheels'

SEATTLE, Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Science Center (PacSci) announced a $5.25 million grant from The Laura Ellen and Robert Muglia Family Foundation to sustain Science on Wheels, PacSci's outreach program bringing hands-on STEM learning to schools and communities across Washington State. It is one of the largest gifts in PacSci's history and one of the first major grants from The Muglia Family Foundation since it formalized its grantmaking in late 2025.

The gift comes after Science on Wheels lost significant funding from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction following statewide budget cuts. The Muglia Family Foundation's investment ensures PacSci can continue delivering high-impact, hands-on programming Washington students count on, while advocacy continues to restore public funding.

"The Muglia Family Foundation is proud to support the transformational programming that Science on Wheels brings to students across Washington State. We believe that STEM education and hands-on learning is fundamental to the success of young people. The Pacific Science Center has a long reputation for inspiring curiosity through innovative and high impact learning, and we are excited to be a small part of that legacy." – Laura Ellen Muglia

For more than 50 years, Science on Wheels has delivered live science assemblies, classroom workshops, and interactive exhibits to students in PreK through eighth grade statewide. The program complements classroom instruction and supports state science standards.

Over the next three years, the grant will allow PacSci to:

• Reach 350,000 students statewide with hands-on science learning opportunities
• Offer free and deeply discounted programming for low-income schools and communities
• Develop new curriculum that aligns to state standards
• Build new exhibits to keep programming engaging, relevant, and high quality

About Pacific Science Center

Pacific Science Center is a Seattle-based nonprofit science center whose mission is to ignite curiosity in every child and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us. To learn more about PacSci, please visit: www.pacsci.org/about

About The Muglia Family Foundation

The Laura Ellen and Robert Muglia Family Foundation was founded in Seattle in 2000 and has spent 25 years funding organizations worldwide in entrepreneurship, technology, health and wellbeing, and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence.

To learn more about The Muglia Family Foundation and their other important work, please visit: www.mugliafoundation.org

SOURCE Pacific Science Center