WOW to be Smithsonian of outdoors

I knew it was going to be a big deal. I just didn't know how big.

I'm speaking of the Wonders of Wildlife: The American National Fish and Wildlife Museum, which will be situated adjacent to Bass Pro Shops. Trust me, it's big.

The $50 million cost of the museum is funded by a combination of sources including a Springfield hotel-motel tax, two state of Missouri funding sources, in-kind contributions from John Morris, Bass Pro Shops president, tax credits and bond proceeds. The formal ground-breaking ceremony is Oct. 4 at Sunshine and Campbell. Truth be told, ground has long since been broken on the planning for what will go inside the museum. Has it ever!

You may know that former presidents Jimmy Carter and George Bush are honorary co-chairmen. The actual board of directors is made up of local, regional and national persons of renown in various areas of outdoor activities. This is a hands-on board that is directly involved in the nitty-gritty of planning.

Drury College president Dr. John E. Moore, my former boss, is the chairman. He is responsible for bringing on board Gary Ellison, local advertising guru, ragtime piano virtuoso and all-round good guy (a good guy because he's a Rusty Saber fan, among other good things), as marketing director for the project. Ellison has blended his existing advertising business into the museum marketing job.

Proving once and for all that I'll go to the ends of the Earth to research a column, I went all the way to the corner of Sunshine and Campbell to interview Gary Ellison at his office in the Bass Pro complex.

When Ellison boasted that the museum could become the "Smithsonian of the Outdoors," I thought: "Sure it will! Dream on, Gary!" When we finished our talk, I was a believer.

This museum is going to be a really big deal! Critics have called it the "dead animal" museum. I wonder: Is that how they refer to the Museum of Natural History?

Ellison points out that although the museum will comprise one of the most extensive collections of taxidermy in America, 70 percent of the space will be devoted to live animals, only 30 percent to taxidermy and artifacts. The aquarium will hold half a million gallons of water to accommodate live fish. Put that in your dead animal museum pipe and smoke it.

In summary, the museum's objectives are to educate, inform and entertain visitors of all ages regarding wildlife and the outdoors, including the history of hunting and fishing