Foundation Projects |
Mississippi Children's Museum
The Mississippi Forestry Foundation, with the support of the MFA Communications Committee, MFA officers and individual members, and county forestry associations, raised over $250,000 to fund a forestry exhibit at the Mississippi Children's Museum (MCM). MCM opened in 2010 and the museum's goal is to provide a unique and exciting educational experience that ignites and inspires a thirst for discovery, knowledge, and learning in all children. The forestry exhibit enables children to operate a kid-sized skidder while wearing orange reflective vests and hardhats. The Foundation continues to support the museum in order to fulfill its original commitment and maintain the quality of the exhibit. Mississippi Museum of Natural Science The visionary leadership, fundraising, and dedicated effort led by the Mississippi Forestry Foundation with the support of MFA, its Communications Committee, and the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science’s staff, led to the opening of the the Towering Treasures exhibit at the museum in 2004. Towering Treasures, acting as an extension of the natural forest outside the Museum at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park, allows visitors to discover that trees and ecosystems are shared habitats that support an interconnected biological community. Guests can explore the different parts of a tree and other elements of the surrounding forest ecosystem while learning about the biological and economic value of trees. Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum Through the support of the Communications Committee, the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum staff has made changes to the forestry exhibit housed in the Heritage Center at the museum. Visitors now find themselves emerged in a Mississippi forest through life-size wall murals depicting a forest scene. Photos from the early 1900s are displayed on the walls throughout the exhibit and are accompanied by descriptions of forestry and sustainability practices from the same time period. Visitors are also able to use the Osborne Fire Finder to find simulated wildfires in the new ground level fire tower exhibit. Several years ago, with funding from the Communications Committee, the museum's sawmill exhibit was updated, allowing the sawmill to run more frequently for museum visitors. Funding was also provided for permanent signage explaining the processes of the mill and highlighting the importance of forestry in Mississippi and for the construction an observation deck where visitors can view the sawmill.
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