After outcry, Tackapausha Museum reopens

Nature enthusiast Noah Gonzalez found himself surrounded by animals of many kinds at Saturday's reopening of the Tackapausha Museum and Preserve in Seaford -- a historic 84-acre sanctuary of oak forests, ponds and streams, small mammals and scores of bird species.

"His name is fitting," said Noah's mother, Claudia Gonzalez, 36, of Wantagh, adding they have plans to celebrate his 6th birthday next month with a party at the museum. "He is really like Noah's Ark."

The Gonzalezes joined more than 60 people who roamed the revamped 3,000-square-foot museum minutes after it reopened at noon. Participants enjoyed exhibits of rescued wild animals, including reptiles, owls and squirrels, crafts, hands-on exhibits, shows and guided nature walks. The museum's reopening was appropriate to celebrate during Earth Day weekend, Nassau County officials said.

"I wanted to see a lot of the animals," Noah said. "There are just so many that I don't know what they do."

The 65-year-old Tackapausha had been closed since August while undergoing $300,000 worth of renovations, with funds from the county's environmental bond act, officials said.

"Tackapausha was like the stepchild," said activist Lisa Schary, of Friends of Massapequa Preserve. "It had been waiting for years to get restored."

The reopening resulted from efforts by county officials, volunteers, the South Shore Audubon Society, the newly formed Friends of Tackapausha and Wildlife In Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation. After the museum's director was laid off following countywide job cuts, fans of the museum protested her firing in February and demanded the museum reopen. She did not return.

"Our goal was to get the museum back open and help the county keep the museum open and running," said Lorraine Bondi-Goldsmith, president of Friends of Tackapausha.