It's been a week of good news for the beloved, beheaded brontosaurus along the edge of Northgate Park's old dinosaur trail and the North-South Greenway.
First, rehabilitation work began this week on the old statue, with Greenville-based sculptor Tripp Jarvis working to rebuild a four-foot section between the body and neck before reattaching the returned head/neck and fixing other damage to the sculpture.
All this to repair what really is a piece of Durham history, a statue created by Richard Wescott for the museum back in the 1960s (as shown in the photo at right.)
Restitution made by the vandals is supporting the repair, with the Museum working to raise $4,600 to support the rest of Jarvis' work. Add up other needed elements -- including paint, fencing, ongoing maintenance and the like -- and the bill could rise to $10,000.
And this is where you can help.
While there've already been some big-dollar gifts to come in for the bronto, including $2,000 from Durham-based Bronto Software and $2,500 from other donors (including one who dropped a cool G on the rehab), there's clearly much more to raise.
The Northgate Park neighborhood has raised $400, and is looking for more dollars to add to the cause.
This weekend, you can help by picking up one of the spiffy new "Save the Bronto" t-shirts; proceeds from the shirts go to support the NPNA fund. Among this weekend's locations:
- The Civitan Club on Glendale (Fri. 5-7pm)
- Durham Farmers' Market - craft market side (Sat. 8am-noon)
- Elmo's on Ninth St. (Sun. 8am-noon)
Adult sizes (velociraptor small through T-rex-rated XXL) are $15; youth sizes (S, M, L) are $10. Cash and checks only, please.
Starting middle of next week you can also buy 'em online (at savethebronto.com) with an extra surcharge for shipping.
Or, give straight to the museum:
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 Avenue, 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.
Oh, and in case you haven't seen this yet--
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