WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT?

A new Museum of Natural History would be an educational and economic boost for Baton Rouge and Louisiana!

Sixteen LSU collections are the official Louisiana state museum of natural history, but LSU and Louisiana are not receiving the full benefits possible from our wonderful collections, because they not administratively or physically unified in a museum of natural history. The Build-a-Museum Team is proposing building a unified, full service, accredited, world class museum in a new facility on the LSU campus. This facility should be designed especially to house collections, research, university teaching, displays and outreach.

Build-a-Museum Team supported a visit by LSU Facility Development leaders to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History in Oklahoma, an excellent example of a new state museum at a flagship university. They returned and selected three possible LSU campus locations for a new museum.

The Oklahoma museum began with scattered collections, some in attics and basements, which is the current LSU situation, and has developed a unified museum with excellent research, teaching and exhibit space. It attracts visitors to its region. SNOMNH has hosted Tyrannosaurus Sue among many traveling exhibits, and regularly hosts conventions.

Build-a-Museum supported a visit by the SNOMNH Director and Associate Director to LSU in May of 2009. They examined the LSU collections, met with curators, and are currently preparing a report for LSU leadership.

The Build-A-Museum Team aims to encourage LSU to investigate building a great, accredited Museum of Natural History on the LSU Campus and then to support the museum’s development.

We have done extensive research on the community benefits of a Natural History Museum. Other communities our size have successfully supported such a project and we think this could work for our state and university system.

About the current state of the Louisiana Museum of Natural History :

The LSU website describes the situation of the current LSU collections consortium, which is not administratively or physically unified in a museum of natural history. The Build-a-Museum Team is proposing that LSU consider the possibility that the collections in this consortium  actually become a unified, full service, accredited, world class museum in a new facility on the LSU campus. This facility should be designed especially to house collections, research, university teaching, displays and outreach.

YOU CAN LEARN MORE  BY SCHEDULING A TALK FOR AN ORGANIZATION TO WHICH YOU BELONG:

The Build-a-Museum Team offers talks to civic organizations on: "The state of Louisiana needs a world-class museum of natural history located in Baton Rouge, the capital city." Call (924-0356) or E-mail HERE to contact W. H. "Bill" Lee to schedule a talk. Talks feature slides (or Powerpoint) with pictures of innovative museums.  Talks are free and length of presentation can be adjusted to the needs of an organization. A projector and screen can be provided.