My name is Himaschi and I’m a 15 year old high school junior. I serve as the President of the Teen Advisory Council at the Museum of Science and History (MOSH) in Jacksonville, FL. I’ve volunteered at MOSH for over a year, contributing more than 250 hours of service and earning the Gold Presidential Service Award within my first summer. 

I was heartbroken to learn that MOSH’s Board of Trustees has decided to close its longtime Southbank location, where it has operated since 1969, with no plans to open a public museum space for several years. The decision was announced with just four months’ notice, leaving employees, volunteers, and visitors blindsided by the loss of one of Jacksonville’s most iconic educational spaces.

While plans for the future “MOSH Genesis” facility may be underway, there is no clear commitment to keeping exhibits and programs public during the years-long gap. The new location, planned for the city-owned Shipyards, is projected to cost over $100 million, with more than half of the funding coming from taxpayer dollars. Yet the project is still conceptual, with officials such as Councilmember Ron Salem already warning that the city will not cover any cost overruns. 

The public is paying for the new museum, but losing access for years in the process. There is no guarantee that the project will stay on track and no backup plan if it doesn’t. In the meantime, Jacksonville will have no science museum at all.

We believe the current museum can and should stay open. According to ProPublica, its annual operating cost is just 4% of the total capital for MOSH Genesis. Keeping the museum open during the transition period is both financially feasible and educationally vital.

MOSH’s mission is to “inspire the joy of lifelong learning by bringing to life the sciences and regional history”, but this decision abandons those very principles. It dismisses the thousands of Floridians who grew up with its exhibits, camps, and community events. It disregards millions of dollars in local contributions that have built this institution over decades. Most alarmingly, it deprives a new generation of learners like myself, many of whom are still recovering from pandemic-era educational setbacks, of an irreplaceable space for real-world learning and imagination. 

We call upon the MOSH Board of Trustees and the City of Jacksonville to:

• Keep the current museum open as long as possible, rather than abruptly shutting it down
• Support a robust transitional plan that maintains access to core exhibits and youth programs with minimal disruption
• Demonstrate an unwavering commitment to science and history education in Jacksonville

Please sign and share this petition to show the leaders of MOSH and the City of Jacksonville that the community demands better. We will not quietly accept the erasure of one of Jacksonville’s most meaningful cultural and educational institutions. 

MOSH matters–to students, to families, and to the future of our city!

Sincerely,

Himaschi Wijayawardhana

President, Teen Advisory Council of MOSH 

Beachside High School