Sloan Museum receives $500,000 for STEM exhibits and programs

FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) – The Sloan Museum of Discovery received a $500,000 donation to support the museum’s STEM exhibits and programs.

Thanks to the donation from General Motors, the museum will add a gallery of vehicles bearing the name of William “Billy” C. Durant, the founder of GM. The gallery will be 11,000 square feet and will feature rotating vehicles showing the history and future of cars.

Durant formed the Flint Road Cart Company in 1886 after purchasing a two-wheeled buggy business and its new patented spring suspension for $1,500. Durant and his partner, J. Dallas Dort, transformed the transportation company into the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, which eventually paved the way for General Motors.

“Billy Durant was a fearless visionary who boldly seized opportunity wherever he found it and changed the automotive industry forever,” said General Motors Chairman Mark Reuss. “His spirit has remained an inspiration to GM for more than a century and lives on as we lead the global auto industry into an exciting new era powered by electricity.”

The Sloan Museum has 105 rare and vintage vehicles among its collection of nearly 48,000 artifacts, including Durant’s first model horse-drawn carriage.

The Sloan Museum will open to the public on July 16 after a $30 million expansion and renovation.

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