Space sought for LI natural history museum

Wanted: a 5,000-square-foot space that can house . . . dinosaurs, or at least skeletons of them.

The Rockville Centre-based Center for Science Teaching and Learning is actively seeking a building for what would be a first Long Island Museum of Science and Natural History. A deal to house such a museum in the village of Freeport has fallen through, and the center has filed suit against the village in State Supreme Court in Mineola. (Freeport village attorney Howard Colton said the village had not yet been served with court papers and could not comment.)

Ray Ann Havasy, a zoologist and the center's founder and president who had consulted with the filmmaker Steven Spielberg over the making of the mega-hit "Jurassic Park," said the exhibits for such a museum -- some dinosaur skeletons, some live creatures such as reptiles to show how dinosaurs evolved, and some environmental projects -- are ready and waiting to be shown to the public. "We're just in search of a home," Havasy said.

She said such a museum would ultimately benefit Long Island's economy by exposing children to science and technology. Havasy is working with the Long Island Association, the region's largest business and civic organization, on a plan she calls STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) Island. Under her plan, companies, universities or libraries would open their facilities to visitors for one week to demonstrate their projects. STEM programs at schools and other facilities are vital to the Island's growth, Havasy said.

"The number of kids wanting to study science and technology is dropping at a really dangerous rate," Havasy said. "They don't see the connection between majoring in STEM fields and financial success."

Havasy said she has had some discussions with other parties about a building, but nothing has jelled yet.

"One of the real problems is the ceilings," she said. "We need space for the dinosaurs."