Why is the Brockhouse Collection Work Group considering to surplus the taxidermy collection?
The specimens were harvested from the 1940s through the 1970s, making them 50 to over 80 years old. Due to the collection’s advancing age, the taxidermy specimens of the Brockhouse Collection are at a point where significant funding is needed to restore and reimagine it with updated dioramas and interpretive signage. Based on preliminary estimates, it could cost over $7 million to restore the mounts, dioramas, and a new building to create a modernized educational experience upholding best practices for a natural history museum. The A.M. Art Restoration, LLC survey report estimated restoration costs for the taxidermy specimens alone at over $850,000. In addition to this one-time cost, ongoing funds will be needed for the maintenance of the specimens and operating costs of the building.
As a merged organization, the Great Plains Zoo and Butterfly House & Aquarium have presented a 15-year master plan, which considers the best use for every area on the zoo’s 40-acre campus. Based on cell phone data collected by Canopy Strategic Partners, between 2017 and 2023, out of 1.66 million people, only 2.8 percent of visitors spent seven or more minutes inside the Delbridge Museum of Natural History, where the Brockhouse Collection is housed. This data is consistent with historic admissions records from the Great Plains Zoo. The zoo’s campus-wide master plan does include a potential location for a new museum. However, the large capital investment and ongoing operational costs combined with poor visitor utilization makes a difficult business case.
To consider all options, the work group requested to publish an RFQEI in the fall of 2024 to seek qualifications and expression of interest for the future ownership, management, preservation, and utilization of the Brockhouse Collection. The three nonprofits named in the draft resolution, the University of Notre Dame, The Oddities Museum, Inc., and the Institute for Natural History Arts, Inc., have made it clear they are prepared and ready to care for the collection in its next chapter for years to come.
If significant funding is needed to restore the Brockhouse Collection, was it not properly cared for?
The specimens are 50 to over 80 years old and are at a point where significant restoration is needed due to their advancing age. The specimens were inspected annually by a professional taxidermist, and repairs were made to the mounts over the years, like a fiberglass patch reconstruction on the giraffe specimen, costing $2,500 in 2021. Between visits from the professional taxidermist, Great Plains Zoo staff would routinely care for the mounts through dust control and inspections.
In an extensive survey report performed by A.M. Art Conservation, where each specimen was examined, the collections assessors noted, “The kind of damage and/or deterioration seen on the mounts is consistent with the method of preparation, age, and prior use. Some undoubtedly showed damage before they were donated to the zoo. While some of the collection care over the last 40 years may have fallen short of best practices, there is no indication that the zoo was derelict in its duty. The conditions noted during the site survey clearly show that the zoo has tried to maintain the mounts and habitat displays.” The extensive survey report was requested by the Brockhouse Collection Work Group that was established in the fall of 2023.
Why can’t the City of Sioux Falls gift the collection to a local museum?
The work group received a total of six proposals, five from qualified 501(c)3 organizations for various specimens, which were all out of state.