As we approach the end of 2025, the Dr Pepper Museum is proud to celebrate a year filled with meaningful sponsorships and partnerships that have helped drive our mission to educate, inspire, and entertain. From funding educational programs to supporting new exhibits, our generous partners have played a vital role in everything we’ve achieved. Here’s a look at some of the remarkable support we received this year.
Whataburger Partnership for Local Students Field Trips
The Dr Pepper Museum and Whataburger are proud to announce their partnership for a second consecutive year, providing Waco ISD students with a Dr Pepper Museum’s field trip! The field trip included the Make-A-Soda program, a hands-on program designed to spark creativity and introduce the fundamentals of business development.
Through this sponsorship, the Museum and Whataburger are creating learning experiences that encourage students to think creatively, explore new ideas, and build confidence in their ability to innovate. Thank you to Whataburger for partnering with the Dr Pepper Museum to provide these experiences for local Waco students!
Grant Funding for Development
Wildly Refreshing exhibit
This year, the Museum proudly opened two new exhibits: Wildly Refreshing and Sip, Shoot, Share. While both were made possible through the contributions of many collaborators, Wildly Refreshing was created with the generous support of Keurig Dr Pepper. Featuring pieces from their collection, the exhibit explores how animals have been used in soda industry marketing throughout the years. Learn more about Wildly Refreshing here.
Mary Street Facade Project
Our latest preservation project, the Mary Street Façade Project, will restore and update the Mary Avenue side of our historic, National Register-listed 1906 Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company Building. This is the main museum building, which houses three floors of exhibits. The work will preserve the structure’s integrity, improve efficiency, and add a new ADA-accessible ramp. It will also create enhanced views from inside the Museum.
This is the fourth major façade restoration in the Museum’s history and the largest since the work completed to open the Museum. The Mary Avenue project will again restore original plaster façade features on that side of the building. The $300,000 project is funded through grants and community support. To date, we have received generous support from the City of Waco’s Façade Grant Program, the Texas Historical Foundation, Keurig Dr Pepper, and the Texas Downtown Association’s Anice Read Fund, along with Museum contributions and designated donor gifts.
Keurig Dr Pepper
Although Dr Pepper Museum is n independently owned and operated nonprofit museum, we are fortunate to work closely with Keurig Dr Pepper. Each year, Keurig Dr Pepper shows generous support for the Museum through a variety of initiatives, from housing their collection items that help us share the rich history of Dr Pepper to contributing to exhibit development and other key projects. We are truly grateful for their partnership.
Every year, the Dr Pepper Museum, together with the Keurig Dr Pepper Distribution Center in Waco, gives a one-year supply of Dr Pepper to three lucky winners. This year was no exception: two winners were selected during our 34th Birthday Bash in May 2025, and a third was chosen from our online entry form open to all Museum visitors from May 2024 through May 2025.
In addition to the Year Supply Giveaway, Keurig Dr Pepper generously matches visitor donations up to $100,000 in the Museum’s Challenge Grant. Their continued support helps us preserve and share the enduring history of Dr Pepper, and we are sincerely thankful for their commitment to our mission.
Sip by Sip, Brick by Brick
In the past year, we are pleased to share that more than 874 new bricks have been installed in the Museum’s courtyard, each carrying a unique message from Dr Pepper and Museum enthusiasts across the nation. Through the purchase of these bricks, we’ve had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful supporters who’ve placed their bricks themselves through our “Lay Your Legacy” experience, and their contributions help preserve the Museum and Dr Pepper history.
The Big Dr Pepper Bottle
While the Big Bottle won’t be installed until May 2026, the Museum will be unveiling a 23-ft Dr Pepper bottle in the Museum’s Courtyard! This new installation will pay tribute to Waco’s enduring legacy of innovation and creativity as the birthplace of Dr Pepper.
We invite you to be a part of the excitement as this new landmark takes shape! Stay tuned for updates and behind-the-scenes looks as we prepare to reveal this new addition at the Dr Pepper Museum!
Local Businesses and Individual Donors: Supporting our Mission
The Dr Pepper Museum proudly celebrated 34 years of entertaining, inspiring, and educating visitors in May 2025! To mark this milestone, we hosted our 34th Birthday Celebration, featuring a special throwback admission price of just $2, the same price guests paid when the Museum first opened its doors. In addition, visitors also had the exciting opportunity to enter for a chance to win a year’s supply of Dr Pepper!
We are thankful for our very generous 34th Birthday Bash sponsors for helping this event be possible: Waco Convention & Visitors Bureau, Jim Turner Chevrolet and Texas Best Chevy Dealers, and AC Hotel Waco Downtown.
Looking Forward to New Partnerships
As we reflect on this year’s accomplishments, we are deeply grateful for every sponsor and supporter who believes in our mission. Their generosity has made a lasting impact, enabling us to grow and educate our community in meaningful ways. Looking ahead, we are eager to welcome new partners who share our passion for education, history, and memorable experiences!
Thank you to all our 2025 sponsors! We look forward to another year filled with growth, connection, and a shared commitment to celebrating the Dr Pepper story.
