MUSEUM OF LIFE AND SCIENCE

For the Museum of Life and Science

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Project Title: Exhibits, Facilities, and Learning Labs Maintenance and Renewal, Parking Expansion

Project Manager/Department: Roy Griffiths

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Project Description:

This project is $14.1 million, encompassing Museum priorities for maintenance and renewal during the 2017-2020 time frame. This project builds on current assets and opportunities and enables members, visitors and students to benefit from the Museum as a learning environment. Project components include:

• $2.1 million for master plan update and investments in exhibits maintenance, sustainability upgrades and infusion projects for outdoor exhibit areas including Dinosaur Trail, Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, and indoor first and second floor exhibits.

• Our outdoor areas will be 10 years or older and require maintenance, along with low-cost additions including a wetland walkway, rope bridges for healthy activity and a new animal exhibit.

• The Museum’s second floor requires a gallery renovation.

• Sustainability projects include completing our LED lighting replacement and technology infusion to maintain exhibits. $3.1 million to continue the strategy started with our Climbing Higher fundraising campaign by replacing 3 more 20-year old classrooms in our main building with a mini-campus of woodland classrooms, offering efficiencies with proximity to services such as restrooms, parking and picnic dome, easier access for parents, teachers and children.

• This work includes cost-effectively reclaiming floor space in the main building for programming including young child learning and maker space.

• This project provides benefits ranging from increases in Museum earned income and sustainability to program offerings in contemporary science such as biotechnology, ecology, film-making and design, robotics and engineering. 

• $7.0 million to expand the Museum’s parking capacity. The Museum’s total attendance in FY2015 is at a record level with increases projected in 2016 and beyond. In FY2015, the demand for parking exceeded our capacity on 35% of our operating days. Our inability to meet this demand has consequences for our revenue as well as for the surrounding neighborhood. This proposal assumes a net increase of approximately 250 parking spaces with the construction of a parking deck of 412 spaces on the existing south campus parking lot. $1.1 million to renovate visitor entry areas and upgrade technology and add about 40 parking spaces to meet visitor needs and manage our current and anticipated level of visitation safely and comfortably. $0.8 million to complete work using existing plaza and campaign-funded Gateway Park to provide a safe and accessible group entry for our growing numbers of school field trip visitors (students, teachers and chaperones) to meet their needs to organize and orient their groups of children for an effective learning experience.

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Project Justification:

Master Plan Update and Exhibits Maintenance – this project represents our current priorities for maintenance, along with a new master plan to ensure we are making best use of our space and resources. The outdoor areas in this project will be 10-15 years old and maintenance is required to maintain these unique environments for learning and for generating $24 million in annual economic impact for Durham County.

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The Museum’s classrooms are important to our educational offerings and an important source of revenue. They have seen hard use over the past 20+ years. Moving these classrooms into a woodland mini-campus on the south side of Murray offers advantages in amenities and learning environment. This move also contributes to the Museum’s earned income opportunities by re-claiming floor space in the main building to support visitation growth (more cost effective than building expansion).

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We believe that expanded parking is the essential next step in the Museum’s growth and ability to continue to increase economic impact for Durham County. We have attempted to delay the need for parking expansion through a partnership with Northgate Mall that allows us to park school buses in the spring.

Updating our entry for groups will meet their needs for orientation and gathering, and improve the visitor experience.