By Jessica Gorman
The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia has closed its museum. It has been in operation for nearly 200 years. The Academy itself was founded in 1812. Its museum is one of the most significant collections of natural history in the world. It contains 19 million specimens.
The importance of the collection is not in question. Neither is continued stewardship or research. The work of the Academy and care of its collection will continue. What has ceased is the ability for the public to visit.
Protesters showed up almost immediately. From Friday to Sunday after the announcement, it’s estimated that 14,000 showed up to protest the museum’s closure. They pointed fingers and placed blame for a situation they had not taken the time to understand. Ironically, it’s a situation they helped create.
The official announcement was clear. The Academy was in a position where it was forced to prioritize in order to ensure a sustainable future for itself and its work. They had to prioritize care of the collection. They had to prioritize the important research that continues to be conducted. They had to take a closer look at where their money was going and make responsible, informed decisions.
The reality of the situation is that those 14,000 protesters had not been visiting the museum They had not been attending programs. Neither had the thousands of others who have shown up over the past month begging for it to stay open, asking what could be done. When leadership was asked how many had been coming, the answer was 40 – 60. Therein lies the truth. 40 – 60 people. At a significant museum. In Philadelphia. Those are shockingly low numbers.
The data said people aren’t and had not been engaging for some time. The data said money was being spent to run a museum that people weren’t visiting. Only when they were told they couldn’t have it anymore did they seem to care.
We are not entitled to museums. We are blessed and we are privileged to have them. When we don’t appreciate them, we lose them.
Friday morning after the gala, I had someone catch me in the parking lot. She talked about the gala and how blessed this community is to have a museum. Where she’s from, they don’t. She talked about how we have something special and how important it is for people to support it. Hearing the same message I try so hard to spread coming from someone else gives me hope. There have been times that I have all but pleaded with certain people to help share that message, people I should never have had to plead with.
We are blessed. We are fortunate. We are privileged. And not only because we have a museum, but also because our museum is independently operated. As long as we have money to pay the bills, the doors stay open. Running a nonprofit can be tough and it can be easy to wish somebody else was responsible for the money, but it is a blessing that the number of people who walk through our doors does not determine whether or not we stay open. My focus is on making sure those doors stay open so that you can walk through them. It is on making resources available and continuing research and sharing it with you. It is on helping people from all over the country that contact the museum looking for all types of information. The focus must be on how we serve our community, how we accomplish our mission, and recognizing the impact of our museum is felt far beyond the boundaries of Webster Parish.
As I was just about to finish writing, I came across another museum set to close, the Sternberg Museum of Natural History. It is located in Hays, Kansas and is part of Fort Hays State University. The university is facing reduced state funding and threatened by even greater cuts. They must make some very hard decisions. By closing the museum, they will cut $850,000 from the budget.
All hope isn’t lost yet, but the road ahead is hard and they don’t have long. The closure is set for December. Fundraising efforts are underway, but the museum has already been running at a significant deficit with revenue less than half of expenses. They would need an additional $1 million every year to sustain operations.
Another case is the Museum of African American History in Boston. They just cut their staff by a third including multiple director positions. Its budget deficit last year was $1.8 million. CEO Dr. Noelle Trent was quoted in an online article. “I think we all collectively need to be worried about museums across the country. It’s very easy to focus on the Smithsonian and the National Park Service, but what makes our communities beautiful and wonderful are our local museums.”
Although I started writing knowing exactly what I intended to say, I find myself at a loss. Our museum is special. We are privileged to have it. I don’t know how to convey that message in a way that results in the support needed to make sure we don’t lose it.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, President of the Minden Cemetery Association, and an avid genealogist.)