BRYAN, Texas — The Brazos Valley African American Museum is celebrating its 15th birthday on Saturday, July 31 with a party from 1 to 3 p.m. at the museum
The museum was built on the site of one of the original Black Schools in the Brazos Valley and was the brainchild of retired educator, Mrs. Mell Pruitt. The museum is the first to teach the history of African American citizens in the Brazos Valley.
The museum is using their birthday as an opportunity for a new fundraising initiative with a new campaign called The 500. The museum is hoping to find 500 citizens of the Brazos Valley who can donate $10 a month for an entire year. The museum is hoping to use the money raised into hiring a museum director, which they do not have at the moment.
The museum was also recently rewarded a $50,000 grant from the Institute of Museums and Library Services. The grant is expected to fund the museum's "Artifact Cataloging Project" which is set to improve the conservations of artifacts they have collected over the years. It will also help address numerous goals of the museum.
The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with $5 admissions for adults, $4 for senior citizens, $2 for students and free for children five years and under. For more information, visit their website here.