Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt
Mitzelfelt Memo
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors authorized the County Museum to receive a grant to fund programs at the soon-to-reopen Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley at 11873 Apple Valley Road.
"The museum will provide educational outreach programs to at least 1,500 students in 20 schools throughout the Victor Valley," said Supervisor Mitzelfelt. "Funds will also be used to purchase equipment and supplies to develop and present public programs at the Victor Valley Branch Museum, reaching more than 1,250 residents in a series of Family Fun Days and informal gallery programs."
The County Museum will receive $9,000 of Community Foundation grant funds from the San Bernardino County Museum Association to serve High Desert residents during in-school "Museums on the Road" programs. The County Museum has received this grant funding annually since 2005. Starting this year, funds will also be used to develop and provide public programs at the newly acquired and remodeled Victor Valley Branch Museum in Apple Valley.
The Victor Valley Museum, first opened in 1993, was donated to the county in January 2010. With funds provided mostly by Supervisor Mitzelfelt, the County Museum immediately began renovating the facility to align the museum with the County Museum's important American Association of Museums accreditation standards. All collections, exhibits and programs are being evaluated and refurbished to present the cultural and natural heritage of the High Desert region in a way that supports state educational standards.
The effort to renovate a 14,000-square-foot facility is no small assignment. Crews are currently making the museum compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. New flooring and lighting have been installed, and the interior and exterior have been repainted. The thousands of collection objects are being evaluated; school programs are being developed, and 95 percent of the exhibited elements have been completed.
Once crews are done with the renovations, museum staff will need a month to populate the interior with exhibitions. Reopening is anticipated for January 2011.