Inside the Weis Earth Science Museum in Menasha, October 3, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Winnebago County and Outagamie County are closer than ever to reaching a resolution on the UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus.
On Tuesday, the Winnebago County Board passed a resolution to turn over the Weis Earth Science Museum to Outagamie County and the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton. In exchange, Winnebago County will receive the rest of the campus for $1.
The Weis Earth Science Museum was designated by former Gov. Tommy Thompson as Wisconsin’s official mineralogical museum. It now will rest in the halls of a history museum.
“We actually tell the real geologic story of Wisconsin’s history,” said Dr. Don Mikulic, volunteer curator at the Weis Earth Science Museum. “We’re the only ones.”
Now, the resolution heads to Outagamie County, where they’ll just need majority approval from their county board to pass.
In order to fit inside the History Museum at the Castle, the Weis Earth Science Museum would need to shrink by 2,000 square feet.
“By moving the Weis to the History Museum at the Castle, we can ensure that this community asset is preserved but enhanced for the next generation,” said Dr. Dustin Mack, executive director of the History Museum at the Castle. “It’s not about taking something, it’s about preserving it.”
The goal all-around is clear: prevent the museum from going the way of the dinosaur. But the threat of extinction, or even migration in this case, may not have been necessarily imminent.
“There’s nobody talking about moving this anywhere except for downtown Appleton,” said Mikulic. “So there’s no threat to that.”
Outagamie County was intent on acquiring the Weis as part of the proposal, as they refused to consider removing that part from the resolution. Mikulic says the museum is self-sustaining and would have continued to be.
But now this adds in another wrinkle; it may jeopardize the sustainability of the Barlow Planetarium. The two have worked in tandem to attract guests since the Weis opened in 2002.
“The Barlow needs money, needs support and we worked very well together,” said Mikulic. “Now they’re throwing that away.”
Despite the community voicing its desires to keep the Weis, its fate now rests in the hands of Outagamie County, who seems likely to pass the resolution.
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