Heinz History Center will be free for kids in perpetuity

Driving the news: Museum officials announced the gift Tuesday at a news conference.

• Free admission for kids 17 and under at the history center and the nearby Fort Pitt Museum will start Sept. 1.

Context: Admission for kids ages 6-17 now costs $11. Children 5 and under are free.

• The Heinz History Center attracted 350,000 visitors last year.
• Admission to the Fort Pitt Museum for kids aged 6-17 now costs $6. Younger children are also free.

What they're saying: CEO Andy Masich called the news a "watershed moment" and said the museum has always wanted to provide free children's admission.

• "Kids are the building blocks of our communities, and we don't want to create any obstacles to their development," he said.

State of play: The center will break ground soon on an over 70,000-square-foot expansion that will include a new orientation theater, classrooms, and exhibition space, according to a release.

• Masich said that the center is also working with nonprofit VisitPittsburgh on building a new welcome center inside the museum.