THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160622
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
The Virginia Marine Science Museum has received a $100,000 grant from the Norfolk Foundation to help fund new exhibits as part of the $35 million expansion that will triple the museum's size.
``This is significant because it indicates there's regional support for the Virginia Marine Science Museum,'' museum director C. Mac Rawls said. ``The Virginia Marine Science Museum is a facility for the whole region, even though it's located in Virginia Beach.''
The foundation's $100,000 is the 12th gift of $100,000 or more that the museum has received from private sources for new exhibits.
With a fund-raising goal of $5 million for exhibits, the museum now has a little more than $3 million pledged.
``We feel very confident about being able to reach that by the time we open in the summer of 1996,'' Rawls said.
First, though, the 20,000-square-foot ``south building,'' which stands one-half mile south of the existing museum on General Booth Boulevard, will open in January 1996. The Owl Creek Salt Marsh Building will house an otter pool, an aviary for birds native to Southeastern Virginia and two marsh life exhibits. Then in the summer, the two additions to the main building will open, featuring a six-story IMAX theater, a 300,000-gallon tank that replicates marine and plant life in the Norfolk Canyon, a turtle tank and a seal tank.
The museum, which now draws 335,000 visitors a year, is expected to draw upwards of 700,000 with the expansion.
The Norfolk Foundation awarded three other grants last month:
$50,000 to Chesapeake Bay Academy to computerize a learning center. The Virginia Beach school provides specialized education for Hampton Roads students who have attention deficit disorders and other learning disabilities.
$33,000 to Civic Improvement Volunteer Institute Corp. to help implement an advanced community leadership program in Hampton Roads. CIVIC is a new organization formed to develop and diversify the region's community leadership.
$20,000 to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of South Hampton Roads to help initiate a mentoring program for children at risk of educational failure or dropping out of school. The program targets Norfolk and Virginia Beach elementary and middle school students.
In addition, 177 area students are receiving financial help this fall from Norfolk Foundation scholarships. The foundation has awarded $344,807 to students during the 1995-96 academic year.
The Norfolk Foundation is a community trust established in 1950. With assets of about $50 million, it is the oldest and largest community foundation in Virginia. In 1994, the foundation distributed nearly $1.7 million in grants and scholarships in Hampton Roads. by CNB