The Owensboro Museum of Science & History (OMSH) spoke before city commissioners in an effort to attain $1,400 more per month from the city government. This increase request comes on the heels of a possible relocation for the museum that did not occur, leaving OMSH in charge of 90,000 square feet of space that they hope to turn into a profitable opportunity.
OMSH Chief Executive Officer Kathy Olson said most of the museum’s galleries are funded through grants, and that their newest Native American gallery provides a rich story for the local community. While there were talks of OMSH moving to the Turley Building, where the bluegrass museum used to reside, those plans fell through after museum officials and third-party consultants decided they wouldn’t have the space nor resources to move all of their exhibits.
“The footprint didn’t seem to be working for moving the science museum to the Turley Building,” Olson said.
City Commissioner Larry Conder pointed out that the science museum’s location won’t work for them forever, as the building has required many updates and has faced many issues in recent years.
“There may be hard changes to come, and that’s a fact,” Conder said. “Something’s going to happen to that old building.”
While the museum is relatively functional, Olson said the board has made several changes that should allow for a better revenue stream to take effect. Implementing a fee per resident who enters the museum made a huge difference, Olson told commissioners.
“Charging admission has been a good thing. We haven’t raised the price of memberships yet,” Olson said. “It might surprise you, but we sell about 20 memberships a week. And we give away a tremendous amount of memberships. Those memberships are sold at various levels, and they get you into over 300 museums across the country.”
For the first time, Olson publicly announced OMSH’s newest source of revenue — a partnership with Kimberly Clark. After approaching the company last November, those at Kimberly Clark said they were interested in updating the hands-on area inside the museum.
This partnership will allow $500,000 of new interactive exhibits to be installed within OMSH and will take place over a three-year period. The first phase will allow Kimberly Clark to tell their story and provide informative hands-on lessons that explains how the company makes their products. A professional development project for teachers will be implemented as well.
The second phase will involve new programming in OMSH’s biotech lab, while the third phase will include a history gallery that highlights Kimberly Clark’s project and involvement in the community. Olson said the gallery will mesh well with OMSH’s environmental exhibits. The company will also help to provide OMSH with new bathrooms.
“They’ll rent the museum in the evenings to show off their new bathrooms and exhibits. They also have a volunteer workforce who will do a lot of the work,” Olson said. “They already have the funding needed.”
Although OMSH has this major project in the works, commissioners continued to interrogate Olson on how the museum could turn a profit and potentially save some money in the near future.
When Commissioner Jeff Sanford asked whether OMSH needed all 90,000 square feet to function, Olson said there was around 15,000 square feet that could possibly be rented out–however, much of that space is currently being used for exhibit preparation and storage.
“The cave exhibit and the Native American exhibit are custom-made and can’t be moved around, plus the mammoth,” Olson said. “Our key is getting all of these exhibits finished. We’re asking the city for $1,400 more a month. That’s where our funding stood about two years ago, before a 20 percent cut was made.”
