Mary Oliveira
Could it really be 25 years already?
Back in September 1999, Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts opened to great fanfare, heralding the dawn of a new institution and attraction in downtown Harrisburg.
A lot has changed since then for both the center and the city. To get a feel for where Whitaker is today—and where it’s going—we sat down with Mary Oliveira, who took the helm as president and CEO last November.
The following is our Q&A with her, edited for length and clarity. You can learn much more this month, as Whitaker plans an entire week of celebratory events, including a birthday bash and a block party, culminating with a 25th Anniversary Celebration on Sept. 14. Check out www.whitakercenter.org for more information.
TheBurg: What interested you in heading up Whitaker Center?
Mary: Whitaker Center is just this amazing anchor of our region. The pandemic and being a shuttered venue really caused it a lot of challenges. The opportunity to help work through some of those challenges and see how we can revitalize it and re-introduce it to the community seemed like a very exciting thing to want to be a part of.
TheBurg: What are some of the specific challenges you’re facing?
Mary: Whitaker Center is a big place and a nonprofit business entity. So, it faces the challenges that many nonprofits do when it comes to funding streams, revenue, balancing an operating budget, etc. And the physical maintenance of a 130,000-square-foot building presents us with some unique things to have to figure out answers to. So, we need to make sure that we become again a destination of choice with great performances in our theater, a lot of exciting exhibits happening in our science center, and the coding, gaming programs and workshops that we offer. There has to be a good balance with the fundraising, the donors, the grants, the foundation support, and all of that blended together.
TheBurg: What has impressed you about Whitaker Center?
Mary: The brand reputation is still so positive. So, one of the things I committed to early on was an intentional listening tour. It started with the staff members: “What’s your Whitaker why?” That’s an essential question I’ve asked everybody, and that’s really what we’re trying to amass information on so that it can help us strategically plan. 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 followed with a board survey, taking it to the next level of those community leaders and business leaders who are connected to us by their service. Then we took it even further and went out to the community this spring, and we did a community survey of over 35,000 that are in our email database: “What is your Whitaker why?” It was overwhelming to hear the feedback that this is still considered a place of wonder and curiosity and learning and delight and experiences that multi-generational families are excited to share with one another.
TheBurg: Where do you see Whitaker headed?
Mary: In 1999, no one predicted the digital era that we’re in. So, they built this grandiose brick-and-mortar venue with the anticipation of enticing plenty of foot traffic to make it this cultural enrichment center that included both science and arts. We’ve now adapted. We have a first-of-its-kind coding and gaming den, where kids can come in and really get an opportunity to experience things that maybe they don’t have at home, especially with a focus on lower- and middle-income students.
I think there’s so much transformation that still needs to happen—kind of shifting from information age to innovation age. We’re looking at ways to update and enhance our science center. Some of the exhibits we have are the original ones from 1999. So, it’s a great opportunity to make sure we remain relevant to the students of today. So, I see Whitaker becoming a strong workforce development partner to the business community. We start with programs for children as young as 3 years old here. We have a weekly program called Little Learners, where we’re introducing STEAM and STEM concepts to them at an age-appropriate curriculum level of playing. It goes all the way up through high school.
TheBurg: What are you hearing from the community regarding your future?
Mary: I think the community is still very excited about Whitaker. I also think there’s an opportunity to introduce us to this newer generation that is growing up in a world where they can sit and watch a movie on their phone on their sofa.
I was asked in an early interview, “What do you want your legacy to be?” Without hesitating, I said, I want the conversation to include the question: “What do you mean you haven’t been to Whitaker lately?” So, that phrase, “creating Whitaker” or reinventing or revitalizing Whitaker Center as a destination of choice. Young adults, young professionals, young families are moving into this area, and we have to give them reasons to be excited and reasons to want to stay here.
TheBurg: Is there something about Whitaker you’d like our readers to know that they may not?
Mary: We want to build or rebuild our brand equity in the marketplace. We’re trying to figure out how we just get out there and get our voice heard. We want to invite people in the door. To explore us is to love us, so just come explore us.
The Animation Academy is an incredibly interactive exhibit [runs through Jan. 10]. It’s all about how science and art come together in an animator’s world. Some of the students’ favorite cartoon characters will be here. We’ll have artists come in and host workshops on animation skills. We’re told that this is one of those repeat exhibits that families will want to come back to time and time again, because there are so many components to it. All ages, from 8 to 88, hopefully, will find something that they enjoy about it.
We have our Celebration Week coming up, Sept. 9 to 14. Whitaker Center opened its doors on 9/9/99. We thought, “Let’s do five events in the span of six days.” So, we have a robust calendar of exciting events, all meant to encourage so many populations to engage with us.
Whitaker Center is located at 222 Market St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.whitakercenter.org.
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