The Badlands Historical Centre is making progress on its Raise the Roof fundraising campaign and is hoping to open this season.
The Badlands Historical Centre has been undergoing a renaissance over the last year, with a new invigorated board in place. It took some time to develop a vision for the unique museum, which has an eclectic collection. The museum has also been dealing with serious infrastructure issues. The main one is a damaged roof. While they have done a repair and it is holding, a proper fix is needed.
The Raise the Roof campaign has been aided by surrounding municipalities, including the Town of Drumheller, Starland County, Wheatland County, Kneehill County and Special Areas. They have held a few fundraisers which have helped.
“The fundraisers we have done, we have had between 50-60 people show up to each one and we want to keep this going. We make about $2,000 at each one and that will carry us for a few months,” said Louise Henrickson of the Badlands Historical Centre.
While the capital campaign is going well, opening for the season is hinging on securing some grant funding. They have applied for a few different programs, including for a summer student position.
The opening will also be contingent on a few upgrades as well as getting it up to safety and fire codes.
Another update is on the future of Bo the Bison, the partial skeleton of an ancient bison found near Taber in 1957. The Museum was working with the Town of Taber, which was interested in repatriating the remains. That has since broke off. Now the museum is talking with a museum at Blackfoot Crossing to display the ancient bison.
