May 4—BEMIDJI — Guests at the Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji will have a chance to peek behind the scenes with a new exhibit providing an inside look at animal care.
The center recently completed a substantial construction project, originally designed to create a restroom on the first floor but one that kept expanding into other ways to improve guest experience and educational opportunities.
Dedicated as the Elwell Animal Prep Lab, in honor of the science center’s founders, the star of the completed project is a new exhibit that provides a direct look into one of the center’s backrooms where animals receive care.
“We saw an opportunity for a new kind of experience at the science center,” shared Lee Furuseth, the center’s executive director. “We decided to make (animal care) a live experience instead of going back into some closed-off area where nobody can see what’s happening.”
Located in the northwest corner of the building, the new exhibit features a wide window looking into the lab, complete with a microphone so children can ask questions about animal care and the employee in the backroom can answer.
“We wanted it to be interactive, so you can talk to the employees who are caring for the animals,” Furuseth said.
The exhibit isn’t the only new addition, the recent project also brought a restroom to the first floor of the center, a water fountain, and other upgrades like new flooring and emergency drains.
“(The restroom) was the original purpose of the project. We didn’t have a restroom on this floor, and if that seems insignificant, to a parent of a toddler (it’s not),” Furuseth explained.
Adding a ground-floor restroom was on the list of needed projects for years, before Furuseth even joined the Headwaters Science Center in 2019. Finally, the right time came and the center was able to get the funds to do so.
“You wait and wait until just the right moment (for a project), and then last year it came,” Furuseth said. “(The Northwest Minnesota Foundation) came with $45,000 which was enough that we thought ‘We can do this.'”
The initial grant of $45,300 was quickly followed by $120,000 from the Neilson Foundation and a donation from TEAM Industries for $4,000. In late fall of 2023, the center began the project and started its own campaign to raise the remaining funds.
But as the project continued, it looked like the center would still be around $25,000 short of the total project cost.
“We were going to do the project regardless, but then along came a check that was almost the exact amount,” Furuseth shared. “(The Bernick Family Foundation) pushed us right over the edge.”
The Bernick Family Foundation donated $25,000, with family member Jason Bernick presenting the check to the center on Thursday.
Thanks to the generosity of these local organizations, the science center’s project has been fully funded and guests can enjoy new experiences and added amenities.
“This is a substantially different place now, it feels different,” Furuseth said. “It’s changed even from what it was just a year ago. It’s something our guests will absolutely appreciate.”
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