NU State Museum gifts passes to Malone Community Center

The University of Nebraska State Museum-Morrill Hall recently partnered with the Malone Community Center to provide free museum passes to students and teachers as part of a winter membership drive. For every membership purchased or renewed, Morrill Hall donated two free passes to the community center. Through the support of members, the museum donated 126 passes.

“Our museum wanted to partner with our member families to provide some joy for other members of our community who may not be able to visit museums otherwise,” said Susan Weller, director of the NU State Museum. “We were able to provide more free tickets than we expected thanks to our generous members.”

The Malone Center has provided social, cultural, educational, employment and welfare services to families, youth and seniors in Lincoln since 1955. Its mission is to create unity and prosperity throughout Lincoln while honoring its African-American heritage. Currently, the center serves 45 school-age youth and 14 preschoolers.

“We are so thankful for these passes,” said Mismiki Montgomery, director of youth programs at the Malone Center. “We are always looking for new opportunities to provide our youth local experiences and field trips so that they can get to know their city a little better. I already have a handful of them come up to me every day and say, ‘Miss Miki, when are we going to see the dinosaurs and big elephant at that place?’ Thank you to all who helped get these passes for them.”

While the Malone Center is the first local organization to receive passes as part of the membership program, the museum hopes to support other entities in the future.

“We are committed to being a community partner,” Weller said. “We want to help lift up other worthy organizations that serve Lincoln.”