The Times-Standard reports on the pending closure of HSU's Natural History Museum:
ARCATA -- Director Melissa Zielinski is hoping a miracle can save Humboldt State University's Natural History Museum.
Sitting amid the museum's diverse collection just an hour after Friday's official announcement that budget woes were forcing the downtown Arcata facility to close at the end of August -- Zielinski said she wasn't willing to give up hope. Not yet.
”I'm hoping we can find some other solution,” she said, looking around at the colorful displays she's helped student interns design over the years. “But it really doesn't rest with the university because the university is in such dire straits right now.”
The museum's only hope is a donor or an outpouring of community support, Zielinski said.
”My plea is if there is somebody out there who really wants this place to stay and is able to fund us, now is the time to step forward,” she said.
Read in full here.
The Natural History Museum has helped instill a love and understanding of nature in adults and children alike – especially children. Humboldt Bay boat trips, Marsh Explorer day camps, programs with Friends of the Dunes. I'd hoped Surfrider could offer an ocean program in the future, but without some huge help, the museum won't have a future. It's truly an amazing, special place. If anyone can make a miracle happen, please do.
For more information on HSU's Natural History Museum or to help, call 826-4479 or visit its website.
