As of Jan. 1, the name will return to. PPG and the PPG Foundation, according to the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh, “will transition their support for the Zoo to refocus on STEM education programming and will relinquish their naming rights to the Aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo.”
The facility was originally called the Highland Park Zoo before it was named Pittsburgh Zoo. The AquaZoo was introduced in 1967. When it was renovated in 2000, the society said, the zoo “was briefly named the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium before adopting the PPG partnership in 2002.” “We are excited to be able to continue and evolve our PPG relationship, which has lasted over 20 years,” said Dr. Jeremy Goodman, president and CEO of the zoo. “Education is at the core of both organizations, so continuing to partner with PPG with a new focus on inclusive and engaging STEM programing is a positive direction for us and the entire community.”
Next year, PPG and the PPG Foundation will pay for a teen-focused STEM program that “will offer local at-risk middle school students learning opportunities at their schools and in the Zoo’s teen learning lab, as well as offering on-grounds animal encounters, career shadowing experiences, and team project opportunities.”
PPG acquired the naming rights on April 15, 2002, “which included the largest donation in the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium’s history at the time. The naming rights were extended for a further [10] years in August 2011. The extension expired in April 2022, and both organizations agreed to retain the PPG name through the end of 2022.”