HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Museum Of Science And History Advisory Committee - 06/05/2019REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CORPUS CHRISTI MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY ADVISORY BOARD
Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 12:00 PM
Museum Conference Room, 1900 N Chaparral Blvd, Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
Call to Order: 12:01 PM by Cary Perales
Roll Call:
Present: Cary Kristina Perales, Jack Southard, Kathy Wemer, Anita Eisenhauer, Christina Buttler, Sylvia
Tryon-Oliver, Carol Rehtmeyer, Mary Jane Garza, Teresa Conville, Jennifer McCollough and Esther
Velazquez
Absent: Claudia Huerta, Karen Howden, Sonia Castillo Plemons
A. Adoption of Minutes from April 11, 2019 meeting
Motion to Approve, Seconded and Unanimously Accepted
B. Public Comment – None
C. Review of Financials
D. Museum Director’s Update
The following items were reported on:
a. Thanked City for facility improvements:
i. IT department installed drops to enable wireless connectivity. Having WiFi will
facilitate the point of sale (POS) system, now awaiting service from Spectrum.
ii. HVAC repairs ongoing.
iii. Parking Lot newly resurfaced and striped.
iv. Stage Sound System project has not progressed, vendor is causing delays.
v. Exterior maintenance.
b. Working on Master Plan to theme out entire Museum to get funding for each area. Any
naming right sponsors would come to Board for approval.
c. Wayfinding improvements to improve flow. Partnered with a state-of-the-art group out
of New York, Xenario, who have offered to do an entire wayfinding plan/concept for the
Museum free of charge. Looking for ways to enhance experiences.
d. Exploring Areas of Improvement:
i. Astronomy and Space Experience;
ii. Dinosaur Immersive Experience;
iii. Minerals and Energy environment, updating and expanding rock displays;
iv. 4D Theater (have some preliminary numbers) will be shopping around for a
naming rights sponsor, this will probably be next project;
v. Science and Math Preschool, investigating to bring in additional revenue.
Director did this in Chicago for ages 3 and 4, it brought in $250,000. Brought in
families that were very engaged in everything. This will not be a daycare
facility.
vi. Exterior Water Science Park where ships once were. Interactive water feature
with vortexes, waterfalls, a wave pond, that teach everything from ecology to
erosion to environmental issues. Also looking into making it a venue. It will be
an attractive backdrop and in the evening it can be a light show that can be
ticketed to help depleted income. Port is very enthusiastic about partnering and
a meeting is scheduled for next week with Mr. Strawbridge and the Type A
Board.
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e. In Progress:
i. Playground canopy is being installed;
ii. Playground solid membrane surface called Poured in Place (PIP) has been
purchased and will be installed after canopy;
iii. Playground musical instruments are on hold for order;
iv. Magic Planet globe that streams NASA/NOAA information replacing dated and
damaged weather station. Already received, awaiting the make-ready (stage,
railing, stars on top) which is expected next week. Global Imagination will
install and train. There will be options for an educator run set curriculum and
also a kiosk on the railing that a visitor can select the types of information they
want to see.
v. Doubleknot POS system (paid for through Rebuild Texas grant) will allow the
purchase of tickets from a mobile phone and prompts users on every
transaction if they would like to make a donation. Twenty percent of the
people will actually make a donation.
vi. Exhibit Repairs, partnered with U.S.S. Lexington, they have sent their staff to
the Museum, their electrician came yesterday, their head of exhibits was out
the day before to help bring back things that are not functioning.
vii. Other Partnerships with Botanical Gardens and Art Museum, doing an
advertising piece in two magazines with them to share in the expense.
viii. Summer Camp has kicked off. There are 11, averaging about 30 students per
camp, with about 330 students 30 of which are scholarships. Scholarships were
offered to the camps that were not full and this allowed them to continue.
Camps include field trips, t-shirts, snacks, lunch, before care and after care.
There are specific curriculum writers writing new curriculum for each of the
units. Curriculums had not been updated in six years. Cost for members $275 if
preregistered, non-members $300, or $70 per day for walk-ins.
ix. School Visits 28 for May, Jun already have 10 outside groups and for July 8
groups.
x. Daily Admissions - every day is averaging 2,000 without having any special
type of programs.
f. Events:
i. Dads & Dinos, Sunday, June 9 in celebration of Father’s Day.
ii. July 4th Event, opening at 5:30 pm with activities throughout the Museum, very
family friendly, food trucks, letters to write to military. Then group will be led
down to the Barge Dock for the fireworks show. Area seats up to 800 people,
admission will be $12 per person and that can bring about $10,000 in revenue.
Thinking about getting some chairs set up.
iii. Forgotten Cowboy, Thursday, September 12, signature event, anticipating
bringing in $100,000, well on the way, almost there. Mustangs are cooking,
L&F donating beverages, have secured $165,000 worth of underwriting, not
selling tables. Underwriting gives more publicity, range includes $2,000,
$3,000, $5,000 and $8,000. Flint Hills is $8,000 is signature sponsor. As soon
as they sign, the appear on website, Facebook, posters, newspaper, they will
be recognized at the podium. Have five $5,000, ten $3,000 and fifteen $2,000.
There will be a silent auction a live auction, expecting to be sold out by the end
of June. Entire Museum will be transformed into a western town. Singing
cowboy by the fire, saloon with gambling, a gamblers anonymous area, the
band Five Card Draw, photo booth. Citgo giving a signature glass, every person
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gets a bandana (underwritten by Christus Spohn), red for ladies, black for
gentlemen.
g. Grant Writing: $25,000 from Flint Hills for the Forgotten Cowboy event, memberships,
camp support and dollar days; Beeman Brothers $23,000, Earl Sams Foundation
$30,000, NASA wrote a pre-grant for $1,000,000 over a couple of year period that
specifically is for space and science, Port is interested in doing sponsorships for July and
that would be $30,000. Also some small grants, hired a part-time grant writer. Flint Hills
will be doing a check presentation by the President or Vice President at the end of June
for the $25,000, exact date has not been set yet. Advisory Board will be invited, it will
be a nice press conference with refreshments.
h. Challenges: sound system for porch, not a large ticket item, awaiting insurance
information from vendor. Trying to get vendor to move more quickly with the potential
of a second larger sound project, the Museum-wide PA system. Exhibit repair is also an
ongoing challenge.
E. Deaccession Items (see page 4 for details)
Wet Specimens
Motion to Approve, Seconded and Unanimously Accepted
F. Also Discussed (outside of Director’s Report)
a. Details in the Minutes
b. Website connectivity challenges, website upgrade and mobile phone app
c. Update on April egg deaccession, two options: Oso Bay is interested in taking the
broken eggs (entity must also be a permit holder, which they are). If discarded they will
need to be destroyed. If Museum keeps they will be used for education in acid/calcium
demonstrations so they would be destroyed that way.
d. Quality of new musical instruments, very hardy and made for exposure to outdoor
elements and come with a 5 year warranty.
e. July 4th Parade – Museum activities will not conflict because it will be closed until 5:30
pm.
G. Items for Next Agenda
a. View Magic Planet Exhibit
b. Website Demonstration
c. Science and Math Preschool Next Steps
d. Update on Behind the Scenes Tour
e. Update on Eggs to Oso Bay
f. Next Meeting August 7, 2019
H. Meeting Adjourned at 1:00 PM
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Details: Deaccession Items
Wet specimens – degraded with no possibility of research or exhibit use:
• 94H0004 – Keeled Earless lizard put in animal lab by Museum volunteer Paul Orchard,
preserved when it died
• 71H005 – Green Anole – unknown origins, unknown donor
• 80H002 – Mediterranean Gecko – donated by Nina Sanchez