The Museum of Life and Science has hired Greenville sculptor Kenneth “Tripp” Jarvis to re-attach the neck and head and make other repairs to the brontosaurus statue vandalized in late May.
Jarvis has a master of fine art degree from East Carolina University and over 15 years experience forming concrete-over-steel structures.
“In repairing the head and neck, first I’ll need to weld a quarter-inch rod to the beam, surround the neck area with hardware cloth, then stucco, lay fiberglass overtop and finally paint the areas that have been repaired,” Jarvis said in a release. Restitution money from the vandals is paying for the May damage, and community fundraising is needed for additional work on the mouth and body.
Additional work including fencing, painting, further restoration or security and maintenance could bring the total needed, beyond the restitution money, to $10,000.
A museum benefactor stepped forward with an anonymous gift of $1,000. Bronto Software has pledged a $2,000 challenge grant, and the museum has received over $1,500 from 20 individual donors so far. In addition, the Northgate Park Neighborhood Association Bronto Project Fund has received over $400 in contributions.
The Bronto Project Committee has also secured 14 sponsors to produce a “Save the Bronto” T-shirt. Five hundred shirts will go on sale Saturday at the Durham Farmer's Market and Sunday morning at Elmo's on Ninth Street. For more information go to www.savethebronto.com or e-mail Nancy Rizzo at savethebronto@yahoo.com
HOW TO HELP
To make a tax-deductible contribution to help repair the brontosaurus, make your check payable to Museum of Life and Science and note “Bronto” on the memo line. Send to Museum of Life and Science, 433 Murray Ave. Durham, NC 27704. To donate online, go to www.lifeandscience.org and go to “Donate and Support – Special Projects”. To make a gift with VISA or MasterCard, call the Museum at 220-5429. All donors to the Museum will receive a receipt for tax deduction. Bronto funds not used immediately will be used for additional work including fencing, improvements to the model like painting and maintenance.
To learn more about the Bronto Software challenge grant, visit http://brontonation.com/ and read “For a Bronto in Need”. Two Facebook groups -– Save Durham’s Brontosaurus and Brontosaurus Durhamite -– have also been created.
Comments
What about that Settlement?
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 04:00 — MichaelScarnIf I'm not mistaken, I thought I read an N&O article within the last month which said that there was a "quiet" settlement between the Museum and the family of the vandal(s). It seemed to suggest that this was done so as to protect the person(s) responsible (what is likely to be a couple of kids) from the small but significant faction of angry villagers who have gone overboard with their hypocritical "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" rampage of retribution. Anyway, my point is that it would be nice to know how this supposed settlement factors into the tremendous efforts that are underway to raise money and repair our beloved Bronto. Given that nothing is mentioned above, one can only assume that this settlement amounts to community service hours rather than actual dollars. But those who are planning to contribute may want to know the answer before deciding on how much to give.