The Science Place Foundation, Inc

Hi everyone! We are filming a documentary covering the history of The Science Place, as told by the people who built it. We are seeking support to help make the documentary a reality. We are a very small team and expect to stay within a very small budget, so we've set up this GoFundMe to help us get there.

You can read more about our project by visiting our website, scienceplacefoundation.org, or liking our page on Facebook. Thanks for reading!

We are raising money on behalf of the Science Place Foundation, a nonprofit history project based in Dallas, TX, to fund the restoration of one of the worlds' very first crewed solar aircraft, the MacCready Gossamer Penguin! 

Originally built in 1979 by Paul MacCready & AeroVironment (in partnership with NASA and DuPont), the Gossamer Penguin flew for the first time on May 19th, 1980, crewed by Janice Brown-Sullivan. 

After being donated to The Science Place museum in Dallas, TX  in the 1980's, the aircraft was on public display throughout the 1990's. Due to its simple, lightweight construction, the years took their toll on the Penguin, and it was in poor condition by the time it was loaned out to another museum in 1995. Due to the cost and difficulty of restoration, the Penguin remained in storage and disappeared for over 20 years until it was located and recovered by The Science Place Foundation in April 2024.

Our goal is to ensure the Penguin is restored to displayable condition, so that it may once again be placed in public view for all to enjoy and learn about its fascinating history.