KAMIN SCIENCE CENTER RENDERING | PHOTOS COURTESY SCIENCE CENTER

The Carnegie Science Center is getting a “transformational” gift — and a new name.

Philanthropists Daniel G. Kamin and Carole L. Kamin will donate a massive $65 million to the institution. The building will be renamed the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center in honor of the gift — the largest single gift to the museums since 1895, and the largest given by anyone other than Andrew Carnegie himself.

DANIEL KAMIN (FAR LEFT) & CAROLE KAMIN (FAR RIGHT)

Daniel G. Kamin, a real-estate developer and longtime supporter of local arts and science causes, has been a hobbyist astronomer since childhood; at a press event announcing the gift, a telescope Kamin built as a young man at the former Buhl Planetarium (the predecessor to the Science Center) was on display.

“This story and this gift are truly embodiments of what the Science Center does,” said Jason Brown, the Henry Buhl Jr., Director of Carnegie Science Center. “Now, thanks to the generosity of this Pittsburgh family … we can expand and grow the opportunities this team provides to our visitors and everyone in Western Pennsylvania.”

Details on the renaming process, including changes to signage, are forthcoming; a mock-up showed the building’s prominent marquee with the new name, though Brown noted such changes will take place over the coming months.

The institution has used the Carnegie Science Center name since 1991, when the current facility — the result of a merger between the former Buhl Planetarium and the Carnegie Institute — opened its doors.

The Science Center will still operate under the umbrella of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.