Waterloo’s Grout Museum District is preparing to demolish its former science center this summer, after closing the so-called Bluedorn Imaginarium last October.
The move stems from funding uncertainty. District director Margaret Moye says a law passed by the Iowa legislature in 2023 is ending the museum’s tax levy.
“That levy became 44% of the budget, and so we are diversifying our funding, we’re implementing a range of strategies,” Moye says, “and really hitting home on what are the functions that we do, what is the best way to achieve those functions, because we didn’t want to cut services.”
The crescent-shaped building opened as a bank in the 1960s, with its distinctive curve of windows. The museum district acquired the building and opened it as a science center in the early 1990s.
Moye says the demolition is necessary, though difficult.
“It’s sad. There’s been a few people who are a bit angry, and I can respect that as well,” she says. “There’s been a lot of buildings getting torn down in Waterloo, but I think most people understand why we’ve had to do it.”
The museum district has also cut staff positions and it plans to reopen a science exhibit in its main building this fall.
(By Gavin McGough, Iowa Public Radio)