Efforts to Aid Burbank Museum Were Limited

In his letter of Dec. 31, (“Attendance Best Way to Aid Burbank Museum”) James L. Powell, president and director of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, provides many excuses for closing the Burbank Natural History Museum facility. He says they tried having a permanent exhibit and that it didn’t work. Excuse me?

An exhibit of limited appeal is not going to do the job. An exhibition of robotic dinosaurs was proposed for last fall. It would have cost the museum only limited expenses. And it would have brought many visitors. Yet the administration refused this opportunity to bring something special to the museum.

There have been many ways that the administration could have made the museum thrive.

But the truth is, museum administration did nothing to make it succeed. Rather they put in exhibits that were guaranteed to discourage repeat visits and provide an excuse to close the facility. In addition, no advertising was done when the museum reopened after the earthquake. And no attempt was ever made to study ways to cut costs.

Closure of the Burbank venue is a disservice not only to Burbank but to the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, Antelope and San Gabriel valleys. The museum administration has refused an opportunity to provide real outreach to this huge area.

CAROL HYLAN

Sherman Oaks