Michael Bloomberg has fond memories of the Boston Museum of Science, having attended weekly classes there beginning at age 10. According to Shirley Leung writing in The Boston Globe, Bloomberg said, “I went every Saturday, and it changed my life. It just showed me the possibilities and showed me what was out there in ways that traditional school didn’t do.”

Bloomberg, the 74-year-old former mayor of New York City, grew up in Medford, a city just north of Boston. He has an engineering degree from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

To ensure that future generations have the same opportunities he had, he is donating $50 million to the museum, the largest gift in the institution’s 186-year history.

Leung quotes Museum of Science president Ioannis Miaoulis as saying, “The museum is not only a great institution in Boston, but it is also a worldwide leader in transforming education throughout the country and the world.” He hopes Bloomberg’s gift will prompt others to give to museums of science elsewhere.

“Usually the big money goes to art museums,” Leung quotes Miaoulis as saying. “Finally someone got it right.”