Construction is underway on the new Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University (TAU), American Friends of Tel Aviv University has announced. Financed by US philanthropist Michael Steinhardt, the project will house and preserve a natural history collection of over five million specimens. Slated to open in March 2017, the 8,000-square-meter building will form the centerpiece of the largest, most comprehensive center in Israel for biodiversity research, education and conservation.
Steinhardt said, “Through the museum, we have the opportunity to ensure that scientists, researchers and people of all stripes who are interested in preserving the past to better understand the future will have a place to observe and study that history for themselves.”
The museum will serve as an important resource for thousands of Israeli and international visitors and researchers each year.
“Israel is the crossroads at which all plants, animals and humans moved from Africa to Europe and Asia. It is the only place in the world where you can see this historical depth,” according to Stanford University Prof. Dr. Marcus Feldman, a member of the Steinhardt Museum International Scientific Advisory Board. “In 10 or 20 years, the Steinhardt Museum will become a major world center for the study of biological systematics, evolution, paleo-ecology and paleo-anthropology.”
Its unique design, built by architect Michal Kimmel-Eshkelot, was inspired by Noah’s Ark, a fitting tribute to the natural history collections it will house.
American Friends of Tel Aviv University president and CEO Gail Reiss said,. “We hope and believe that, in addition to being a great research institution, the museum will become a tourist destination on par with Tel Aviv itself. Its exotic ark design and neighborhood - part of the TAU Nature Campus, which includes the Botanical Gardens and the I. Meier Segals Garden for Zoological Research - will make TAU a wonderful day trip for children and adults alike.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 20, 2016
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