Maria Oliveira
Can it really be 25 years already?
In September 1999, the Whitaker Center for Science and Arts opened to great acclaim, marking the beginning of a new institution and attraction in downtown Harrisburg.
A lot has changed since then, both downtown and the city. To get a sense of where Whitaker is today—and where it’s headed—we caught up with Mary Oliveira, who took the helm as president and CEO last November.
Below is our Q&A with her, condensed and made easier to understand. There’s a lot more to learn this month, as Whitaker plans a week of celebratory events, including a birthday party and a street festival, culminating in a 25th anniversary celebration on September 14. For more information, visit www.whitakercenter.org.
TheBurg: What interested you in becoming director of the Whitaker Center?
Mary: The Whitaker Center is just this wonderful anchor of our region. The pandemic and the fact that it’s a closed venue has really brought a lot of challenges. The opportunity to help address some of those challenges and see how we can revitalize it and reintroduce it to the community seemed like a very exciting thing that I wanted to be a part of.
TheBurg: What particular challenges do you face?
Mary: The Whitaker Center is a big place and a nonprofit, so it faces the same challenges that many nonprofits face when it comes to funding streams, revenue, balancing an operating budget, etc. And the physical maintenance of a 12,000 square foot building presents us with some unique problems that we have to find answers to. So we need to make sure that we become a destination again, with great performances in our theater, lots of exciting exhibits in our science center, and the programming and gaming programs and workshops that we offer. There has to be a good balance between fundraising, the donors, the grants, the foundation support, and all of that together.
TheBurg: What impressed you about the Whitaker Center?
Mary: The brand reputation is still very positive. One of the things I committed to early on was a focused listening tour. It started with employees: “What’s your Whitaker why?” That’s a key question I asked everyone, and that’s what we really want to gather information on so they can help us with strategic planning. This is Whitaker’s 25th anniversary year, so what do the next 25 years look like? So we’re using the mantra “Whitaker Next” to build that platform of stability.
We then conducted a board survey, taking it to the next level of community and business leaders who are connected to us through their ministry. Then we took it a step further and reached out to the community this spring. We conducted a community survey of over 35,000 people enrolled in our email database: “What’s your Whitaker why?” It was overwhelming to hear the feedback that this is still considered a place of wonder and curiosity and learning and joy and experiences that multigenerational families love to share with each other.
TheBurg: Where do you think Whitaker is going?
Mary: In 1999, nobody foresaw the digital age we’re in today. So this grandiose brick and mortar venue was built with the hopes of attracting a lot of foot traffic and making it a cultural center that encompasses both science and art. We’ve now adapted. We have the first of its kind coding and gaming den where kids can come and really get the opportunity to experience things they might not have at home, especially with a focus on low and middle income students.
I think there’s a lot of change that needs to happen — kind of moving from the information age to the innovation age. We’re looking at ways to modernize and improve our science center. Some of our exhibits are originals from 1999, so this is a great opportunity to make sure we stay relevant to today’s students. So I see Whitaker as a strong partner with the business community in workforce development. We’re starting with programs here for kids as young as 3. We have a weekly program called Little Learners where we introduce them to STEAM and STEM concepts in a fun way at an age-appropriate level. That goes all the way up to high school.
TheBurg: What are you hearing from the community regarding your future?
Mary: I think the community is still really excited about Whitaker. I also think it’s an opportunity to introduce ourselves to this new generation that’s growing up in a world where they can sit on the couch and watch a movie on their phone.
In one of my first interviews, I was asked, “What do you want your legacy to be?” Without hesitation, I said I wanted the conversation to include the question, “What do you mean you haven’t been to Whitaker recently?” So that phrase, “Create Whitaker,” or reinvent or revitalize Whitaker Center as a destination of choice. Young adults, young professionals, young families are moving to this area, and we need to give them reasons to be excited and reasons to want to stay here.
TheBurg: Is there anything about Whitaker that you think our readers should know but may not yet know?
Mary: We want to build or restore our brand equity in the marketplace. We’re trying to figure out how to get out there and make our voice heard. We want to invite people to come in. When people get to know us, they love us, so just come and get to know us.
The Animation Academy is an incredibly interactive exhibit (runs until January 10th). It’s about how science and art come together in the world of an animator. Some of the students’ favorite cartoon characters will be here. We’ll bring in artists and have workshops on animation techniques. We’ve been told this is one of those recurring exhibits that families want to come back to again and again because it has so many components. Hopefully all ages, from 8 to 88, will find something they like.
Our week of celebration is upon us, September 9-14. The Whitaker Center opened its doors on 9/9/99. We thought, “Let’s do five events in six days.” So we’ve put together an extensive calendar of exciting events, all aimed at encouraging as many people as possible to get involved with us.
The Whitaker Center is located at 222 Market St. in Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.whitakercenter.org.
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