Natural History Museum Prepares for Design, Construction Phase
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 11, 2006
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Natural History Museum Prepares for Design, Construction Phase
With its finances bolstered thanks to a $300,000 gift from the parent of a new California State University, Chico student, the Northern California Natural History Museum is preparing to build its long-awaited facility on the CSU, Chico campus.
"This is an exciting moment for the many community and campus supporters of the museum," said Greg Liggett, museum executive director. "We know it will be a tremendous asset not only to Chico, but the whole North State."
"Northern California is rich in natural history, and the Northern California Natural History museum will give students of all ages an opportunity to learn more about our region, and science in general, in a state-of-the-art facility," said CSU, Chico President Paul Zingg. "I want to thank the dedicated and visionary members of the museum board and other supporters who have helped so much to make this dream come alive."
In August, the museum distributed a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to firms with the experience to design and build the facility. Three companies have been selected from among those that responded to the RFQ to submit architectural and building proposals.
Liggett said ground breaking on the facility could come as early as summer 2007. It will be located on a parcel adjacent to Bidwell Mansion and donated by CSU, Chico.
The run-up to construction would not have been possible without some timely recent support from Saratoga residents Steve and Shelley Newberry, whose son, Scott, is a CSU, Chico student. Steve Newberry is CEO of Lam Research, a high tech development company that already funds a student scholarship in engineering.
The cost of the museum building project is estimated at $4.1 million after an assessment study by A.C. Martin and Associates, a Bay Area design consultant firm that worked with the University on its recently revised master plan. Financial support for the project is coming from private donors, corporations, foundations, state funds and CSU, Chico. Fund-raising efforts continue for the museum's exhibits and operations.
Liggett, hired in June 2005 to oversee the development of the Northern California Natural History Museum, had been the assistant director of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, Kan., since 1998. At the Sternberg, Liggett helped oversee the development of a complete museum renovation, including a building retrofit and all new exhibits and educational programs. He did his undergraduate and graduate work at Fort Hays State University in geology, specializing in vertebrate paleontology, the study of fossil animals. He became a licensed professional geologist in Kansas in 2000.
"Few museum professionals get to develop a new museum in their careers, and I am extremely excited to be working on my second new museum," Liggett said. "I am particularly thrilled about this project, as the educational potential of this museum for people in the North State is almost limitless."
Liggett said the museum's goals include promoting knowledge of the region's natural history, encouraging students to take an interest in the sciences, increasing tourism and promoting wise use of natural resources.
The Northern California Natural History Museum is a partnership effort by citizens, business, local and state government and CSU, Chico to bring a world-class natural history museum to the region. The museum will feature interactive exhibits on the entire North State region, including its geologic history and current biologic regions. It will also feature an active changing exhibit program, a hands-on Discovery Room and demonstration laboratory. Educations programs to schools, teachers and the public, as well as changing exhibits highlighting every aspect of science, culture and the natural world, will be featured in the new museum.
"Our current Museum Without Walls program is just an example of the kind of educational programming we can offer," Liggett said.
For more information on the Northern California Natural History Museum, or to get involved, call 530-898-4121.
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