ST. JOHNSBURY- The Saint Johnsbury Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium is receiving a $150,000 grant of it's quarter-million dollar exhibit from the federal government for a new exhibit. However, they currently can't obtain that money with Washington in turmoil.
The exhibit, called the Community of Observers, is obtaining that money through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library services, which has closed due to the government shutdown. The exhibit, which plans to open in January, is part of the citizen service initiative which is a region-wide project.
Adam Kane, the Executive Director of the museum, isn't worried too much about the short term problems, but he does look to the future when he sees issues that could arise if the government stays shut down.
"We're fortunate to have enough financial strength that we can cover things in the short term," said Kane. "We can keep these contractors moving along, but we get into issues as we get into the longer term proposition of needing to keep to those commitments we've made to contractors and keep to our commitment of having this exhibit."
The museum has already received about $30,000 of it's grant, but Kane is hopeful that the government can iron out the issue their having so he can receive the other $120,000 before too long, as he has contractors starting on the job within the next few weeks.
The other $100,000 not funded through the grant was made by an anonymous donor.
Some of the parts of the exhibit will be pertaining to local weather, birds, butterflies and wildflowers, all which can be relatable to our area. Anyone can be apart of the project, and you can register at this link.