Notes from the March Friends Members’ meeting
The meeting was called to order at 2:30pm. The first order of business was to approve the February minutes. The ensuing agenda included:
- Josef Diaz, curator, announced that the museum’s cultural series would start on Thursday, April 25, and would run from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Members are welcome!
- The Friends financial status is:
- Checking: $39,106
- Savings: $5,008
- Old business:
- The next book fair will be on May 11 at the Barnes & Noble on Rainbow. Please attend for both books and gifts (Mothers’ Day is on May 12).
- The 50-50 raffle will begin at today’s meeting.
- New business:
- The Friends will host a wine tasting event for members on June 3 from 5-7pm. The event is hosted by Total Wine at their facility in Boca Park. A wine sommelier will be present to guide us through the tasting process. Only the first twenty requesters will be accepted as the class is limited. Please submit your request to jimparish72@gmail.com. There is no cost for the event.
- The museum will host a Liberace Workshop on April 11 from 5-7pm. The workshop is to help attendees “liberaceize” a piece of their own clothing. Attendees will bring their piece of clothing; the museum will provide all accessories. Wine and snacks will be provided. The cost is $45. Members will receive a 15% discount. Sign up in the museum store or by going to educationnsmlv@nevadacyulture.org.
- The museum is the home of the type specimen for the state fossil – ichthyosauras. Most of the fossil has been in storage and used for research for about 70 years. Two pieces are on display in the museum. The storage materials have deteriorated over the years such that potential damage to the fossil could occur. The museum is undertaking a 3- week restoration process this summer, which will be led by Dr. Paige Depolo. The restoration will cost $4,000, which will include a 1-day course on paleontology, and a lecture on the research on the fossil. The members voted unanimously to cover the cost of the restoration. In return, the members will receive an exclusive tour of the work area during a work period and have access to the lecture and course.
- The Liberace exhibition will soon be closing. A closing celebration (Evening of Illusion) will be held on Saturday, April 20. The members voted unanimously to provide $1,300 to cover the cost of the evening’s entertainment.
- The speakers for the evening were Drs. Louisa Messenger and Chad Cross from UNLV. Their extremely interesting and informative discussion focused on the vector insects of Southern Nevada – mosquitos, tics, and other such insects that have the potential to spread diseases to humans. They also brought a number of specimens for review and sample kits for people to take home and gather water samples for their team’s inspection. Thank you very much to Drs. Messenger and Cross for their attendance and their enthusiastic presentation.
- Our speakers for the April 18 meeting will be Friends members Diane and Ron Dizon. The subject of their presentation will be: “Around the world in 45 minutes. A bucket list journey!” Please join us!
