A Brief History of The Schiele Museum
Bud and Lily Schiele
A young Rudolph “Bud” Schiele walked to class at the University of Pennsylvania, daydreaming about nature, hiking trails, and the beautiful outdoors. If he wasn’t studying, Bud spent his extra time working at the Commercial Museum in Philadelphia as an assistant curator.
There, Bud developed an interest in photography and taxidermy, skills which he would continue to use throughout his life. Bud did not categorize these jobs as work but as the fulfillment of a dream. Soon after working in Philadelphia, he met a woman named Lily Hobbs. They became husband and wife in 1916 but didn’t have much time to celebrate. World War I beckoned young men to join ranks, and Bud left to serve as a Second Lieutenant in the Army.
After Bud’s return from the war, he devoted his time to the Boy Scouts of America. He and Lily traveled to Gastonia, North Carolina in 1924 where he worked as a scout executive to unify and expand existing troops in the North Carolina Piedmont. Bud and Lily worked tirelessly to raise enough funds to open “Camp Bud Schiele,” a Boy Scout camp on the shores of Lake Lanier, located south of Tryon, North Carolina. Though they never had children, Lily often said that they parented over 100,000 boys.
Bud and Lily Schiele
The Schieles with “their boys”
The Schieles at Piedmont Boy Scout Camp
Lily Hobbs Schiele, 1913
Bud and Lily traveled across North America, exploring the natural beauty of different animals, environments, and Indigenous peoples across the continent. Through these travels, the Schiele amassed a collection of minerals, animals, and artifacts. Lily was particularly interested in American Indians. Excursions across the country gave Lily and Bud the opportunity to visit various tribal groups, learn about their culture, and collect items like Navajo rugs, Cherokee baskets, Hopi and Catawba pottery, and southwestern jewelry. Lily was inspired by Indigenous cultures and wanted to bring home examples of their craftsmanship. Bud, on the other hand, was far more intrigued by the minerals and rocks that abounded underfoot. He loved discovering more about his surroundings. His zest for learning about various environments and the wildlife within continued throughout his life and would nurture a desire to share knowledge with others so they too could understand and appreciate the world around them.
At his home, he could fill his hand with sunflower seeds, and the birds would fly right down and eat from his hand,” said David Stultz, a close friend of Bud.
After Bud retired from the Boy Scouts, he and Lily traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains where he worked as a naturalist for the National Park. There, he continued to photograph and film the natural beauty of the wildlife around him. When Bud and Lily left Gastonia in 1959 for the mountains, they still had one dream that hadn’t been fulfilled: to build a museum of natural history.
Bud Schiele at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Schiele's Beginning
Bud and Lily challenged a group of leaders in Gastonia. “If you can persuade the county to build a place to house it, I will offer my entire collection of animals and minerals and provide my services for free,” Bud Schiele said. That promise sparked action, and with funding from Gaston County in 1959, a museum committee was born. Bryce T. Dickson, Sr., Daniel L. LaFar, Jr., and Albert G. Myers, Jr. devised the museum’s Articles of Incorporation in 1960, and the Gaston Museum of Natural History came into being.
True to their word, Bud and Lily donated their collection and expertise to the fledgling museum. The original museum building was a fraction of The Schiele’s size now. Standing at 1,500 square feet, the doors of The Gaston Museum of Natural History opened July 24, 1961, with Bud and Lily giving tours of the museum.
The City of Gastonia became the new stewards of museum operations in 1964 and decided to honor the Schieles for their selfless contributions of collections and time. The Gaston Museum of Natural History was renamed The Schiele Museum of Natural History.
The Schiele Through the Years
History of the Schiele
The 1960s
Through the 1960s, the museum grew popular with the community. Visitors were excited to learn about wildlife species and see native artifacts. These wonders were sparking discussion across dinner tables. In 1966, Lily Schiele passed away, though her love and study of Indigenous cultures continues to inspire others.
Following Lily’s passing, the museum received grants from the City of Gastonia to build a small planetarium. In 1967, James Lynn became the first planetarium director. “This facility will make the museum complete in interpreting the beautiful and wonderful world in which we live,” Bud said, “and this is the purpose of the museum.”
History of the Schiele
The 1970s
Even as Bud’s health declined in the early 1970s, the museum continued to expand. An auditorium was added for films and lectures. In 1974, Bud Schiele passed away, leaving behind a legacy of learning and a passion for exploring the world’s natural treasures.
The continued growth of the museum after Bud’s passing is a testament to the strong foundation of the museum and the community’s desire for this resource. The Nature Trail, Back Country Farm, and Hall of North Carolina Natural History rounded out the major additions in the 1970s under Museum Director Alan Stout, one of Bud’s first hires.
Back Country Farm established
Nature Trail construction, 1972
Model – Hall of North Carolina Natural History
History of the Schiele
The 1980s
The Schiele continued to expand in the 1980s with exciting new programs and exhibits. The Catawba Indian Village opened in 1984, adding fresh areas of focus to the outdoor exhibit space. Museum staff conducted archaeological research in North Carolina and the western United States, which led to a significant upgrade in the museum’s collections. Following this extensive paleontology project, the Elizabeth W. Robinson Hall of Earth and Man opened in 1988.
History of the Schiele
The 1990s
In April 1990, The Schiele received a major addition to its building. The Earth/Space Science Center provided an entrance and lobby, expanded parking, a planetarium able to seat 150 people, a larger auditorium, a K-3 classroom, and an additional 4500 square feet of exhibit space. It was also during this time that the museum’s now-iconic exhibit – the Wankel T-rex – was placed in the lobby.
Lobby with Wankel T-rex
Planetarium construction
Alan Stout retired after the addition of The Earth/Space Science Center in 1994, and David Brose became the next director. Alongside The Schiele Board of Trustees, the museum continued to expand its temporary exhibit programs and renovate several large permanent exhibits as well.
History of the Schiele
The 2000s
In 2001, The Schiele became a Smithsonian Institute Affiliate. Through this connection, the museum received a grant from the Museum Loan Network to bring in significant Smithsonian artifacts for exhibition in Gastonia. In 2004, The Schiele received accreditation from the American Association of Museums, which recognizes organizations utilizing best practices. A year later, Dr. V. Ann Tippitt was named director of The Schiele.
History of the Schiele
The 2010s
Along with the celebration of The Schiele’s 50th anniversary in 2011, extensive improvements were made to the Hall of North American Wildlife. Designs for a new Environmental Studies Center prompted unprecedented donations to the museum. This center opened in 2013 and now hosts everything from science camps to wedding venues for guests.
James H. Lynn Planetarium
Event in the Environmental Studies Center
The later 2010s brought renovations to many permanent exhibits. Play’Scape, an outdoor playground for children, was added to the Nature Trail in 2014, and the Henry Hall was renovated. In 2016, the Catawba Village was repaired and the James H. Lynn Planetarium received a huge makeover, with an upgrade to full-dome digital technology. The Hall of Earth and Man transformed into the Creepy Nature exhibit in 2018. In May of that year, Gastonia and the North Carolina Piedmont, an exhibit designed an built at The Schiele, opened in Gotha, Germany at the KunstForrum.
History of the Schiele
The 2020s
In 2022, the Curiosity Lab was completed to house The Schiele’s growing Kids Quest after-school program. In 2023, the T-rex in The Schiele’s lobby was dismantled, with plans to reposition and relocate the large fossil cast to a new area in the museum. A large Quetzalcoatlus feeding its young took its place, amazing visitors with a 30-foot wingspan!
The Schiele continues to embody the spirit of education and conservation that Bud and Lily Schiele imagined. Their legacy lives on through the mission of the museum: The Schiele is committed to inspiring curiosity and understanding of science and the natural world through exceptional educational programs, exhibits, and research.
