Deal in works for museum

By Vickie Aldous

Ashland Daily Tidings

A Seattle-based foundation expects to win approval next week to buy the defunct Pacific Northwest Museum of Natural History in Ashland and reopen it as a hands-on science museum.

The new museum would be modeled after Portland's Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and San Francisco's Exploratorium, according to a supporter of the project.

Sharon Javna, an Ashland resident who has spearheaded the effort to create a new museum, said the Kirlin Foundation in Seattle plans to buy the building and ground lease for $1.5 million.

"We have a new museum with a new concept. This concept has proved to be very popular in many towns," she said.

Javna said she expects the State Board of Higher Education to approve the sale Feb. 16.

The property is owned by Southern Oregon University, while the building is owned by the Pacific Institute of Natural Sciences.

If the board approves the sale, the Kirlin Foundation then will lease the building to an Ashland non-profit, the Science Center of Southern Oregon, which plans to transform it into a museum of the same name, Javna said.

Supporters hope to finalize the purchase of the building in March and open the new museum in 2002, she said.

The Pacific Northwest Museum of Natural History opened in 1994 but closed three years later after suffering financial woes.

Javna said the new museum will operate under a different format that has proven to be financially successful.

The permanent exhibits of the Pacific Northwest Museum of Natural History will be replaced with interactive exhibits that will change periodically to keep visitors coming back, according to Javna.

She said the new museum will be a community center as well with ongoing programs for students, senior citizens and families.

Since the Natural History Museum's demise, SOU has received a number of inquiries from prospective buyers. However, few of them involved a museum.

"Southern Oregon University and its supporters have agreed for some time that the building should come back to life as a community-oriented science facility," says Ron Bolstad, vice president of administration and finance for SOU. "But we needed assurance that the property could fulfill the university's community outreach mission and still be owned and operated by private parties. Now the Science Center and Kirlin have provided us with that assurance."

Although the new museum will have a different format than its predecessor, Javna said it will still rely partially on volunteers.

"I'm thrilled that the negotiation is completed," Javna said.

"But it's really just the beginning. It's going to take a genuine community effort to create a first-class hands-on science museum. Fortunately, this is the kind of challenge that residents of the Rogue Valley have proven they're up to," she said.

Javna said anyone interested in becoming involved with the Science Center can e-mail scicenter@yahoo.com or call 488-7856.

Ashland Daily Tidings
1661 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
Telephone 541-482-3456

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