FARGO — The organization that promotes tourism in the F-M area has awarded a capital grant to the new F-M Science Museum. The Board of Directors of Visit Fargo-Moorhead announced the $300,000 grant from its destination development fund on Friday, Oct. 25.
The grant will be paid in one installment to support the architectural design of the new museum. The museum’s interim executive director, Jessie Rock, said the gift will move them through the architectural pre-design phase to the full schematic design of the facility. “We hope this will inspire other local organizations and individuals to help us raise the funds to make this exciting project a reality,” Rock said.
Charley Johnson, president and CEO of Visit Fargo-Moorhead, said the organization offers capital grants for projects like the F-M Science Museum that help bring visitors to the area. “It’s going to be a great project. We certainly hope it comes to fruition in a timely fashion,” Johnson said.
The 60,000 square-foot F-M Science Museum is slated to open southwest of Scheels Arena in the fall of 2027. A major “anchor” donation for the project came in August — a $5 million gift from John Ballantyne, who co-founded biotechnology firm Aldevron 35 years ago. Approximately $9 million has been raised for the museum thus far, Rock said at the time.
Ballantyne also donated $1 million to the project in 2022. The capital campaign aims to raise $70 million, with $38 million devoted to building construction, $2.
