Conservation Corner: November 29, 1999

Natural Science Museum Nearing Completion
by James L. Cummins

In the early part of the 1900s, conservation was the key word of the day. Citizen concern and grass-roots lobbying resulted in the establishment of the Mississippi Game and Fish Commission. The Commission considered public education essential to their goal to recover the state's wildlife populations.

In 1939 the Mississippi Game and Fish Commission opened the Wildlife Museum to provide facilities for research and education. Biologists, artists and taxidermists were hired through the Works Progress Administration Program during the Great Depression. District museums were established at colleges and universities.

Much valuable information on the state's biota is contained in the Museum's collections, which have continued to grow and are now the repositories for specimens resulting from surveys and other activities of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and other state and federal agencies.

Environmental education continues to be a major activity of the Museum, and the exhibit and education programs reflect the Museum's research concerns. Last year, 90,000 visitors toured the Museum. Dioramas, graphic exhibits, an interior garden and aquaria relate the story of Mississippi's rich environment.

A new era for natural science education and research in Mississippi is about to occur. Thanks to the Mississippi Legislature, in 1995 they authorized $15 million in funds in to build a new Mississippi Museum of Natural Science facility at LeFleur's Bluff State Park in Jackson. This amount has been matched by approximately $1.6 million in private funds with a goal of $2 million. Although more private funding is needed for completion, its anticipated public opening is in early 2000.

This new, world-class facility will provide: an aquarium seven times larger than the old one, a 200 seat auditorium, 2 classrooms, a 2,500 square foot library, a gift shop, more and better exhibits, more than 2.5 miles of nature trails, an outdoor amphitheater and laboratories and collections to accommodate biological archives.

The new facility will enable the Museum to better accommodate peak visitation. Currently, the Museum attracts nearly 40,000 general public visitors and 60,000 school children annually from across Mississippi. Based upon the state's population and school enrollment, the new facility will be capable of drawing as many as 250,000 visitors annually, providing more Mississippians with an opportunity to learn about our environment and natural heritage.

The new Museum will be tops among major natural science museums in the nation. Many Mississippians, as well as the staff of Wildlife Mississippi, utilize the Museum on a regular basis for education, meetings and classroom instruction. Beginning next year, I hope you will take advantage of this unique asset.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi