The County of Lambton has officially launched a $3.5 million fundraising campaign to support the "ambitious transformation" of the Sarnia Library, which will house the beloved Stones 'N Bones collection.
Allison Richards, who owned the Stones 'N Bones Museum on Christina Street with her late husband Jim, donated approximately 4,650 items to the county in June.
“This collection is deeply personal to our family,” said Richards. “For more than 30 years, Jim and I shared our passion for natural history with the community and watched generations of visitors discover something new each time they came through the doors. Seeing the community come together to support its future means so much. I’m grateful that Jim’s legacy, and everything we built together, will continue to inspire curiosity and wonder for years to come.”
Members of the Richards family, as well as local dignitaries and community members, attended the downtown library on Thursday for the campaign kickoff.
The Judith & Norman Alix Foundation was announced as the premier sponsor for donating $500,000.
Foundation Vice President Adam Alix said there are a few reasons why they wanted to support the project.
"First and foremost, we as a foundation strive to support youth initiatives that encourage development, opportunity to engage in a new adventure, a new sport, a new educational experience, and we felt that this project ticked the boxes of a lot of those things," Alix told Sarnia News Today. "The other piece is doing our part in revitalizing the downtown core of Sarnia."
Alix said being able to help preserve the Stones 'N Bones legacy also made a lot of sense to the foundation.
In recognition of the contribution, the children's area will be named the Judith & Norman Alix Foundation Children’s Library.
Manager of Library Services Darlene Coke said the redeveloped children's space will have a nature theme with new play equipment, shelving and furnishings. However, the entire first floor will be completely redeveloped.
"We will be seeing new shelving throughout the first floor for the library materials; we're going to see some new walls constructed for the new, relocated maker area -- from upstairs to the first floor," Coke said.
While the museum's collection will primarily be located on the second floor, Coke said there may be an opportunity to incorporate some of the specimens into the design of the first floor.
Deputy CAO and General Manager of Cultural Services Andrew Meyer, who referred to the project as an ambitious transformation, said the design was inspired, in part, by other natural history museums, such as the Canadian Museum of Nature. Some interactive features also stemmed from the London Children's Museum.
"We're very close to having our finalized construction drawings. We anticipate by the end of October we'll have them in place, as well as budget requests for both city and county if needed, depending on the success of the fundraising," Meyer said. "Hoping that in the spring we're positioned to actually publicly tender the project and engage a contractor to undertake the work next year, in anticipation of opening in 2028."
In the meantime, county staff will spend the next three months packing, cataloguing, and preparing the Stones 'N Bones collection for storage. Items include fossils, dinosaur casts, mounted animals, and geological specimens.
Manager of Museums, Galleries and Archives Laurie Webb said this process is being referred to as the collection's "hibernation period."
"Although the collection may be temporarily out of sight, rest assured we will be working away on the new museum," Webb said.
Updates on the project will be shared through the Stones 'N Bones' Facebook page.
Donations of $20 or more will be eligible for a charitable donation receipt, and there are naming opportunities for large contributions. Staff will seek grant opportunities as well to support the project.
Further details about the project can be found on the new Stones 'N Bones Museum website.
