The Washington County Conservation Board met November 9. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

The Washington County Conservation Board looked at a budget proposal for their new nature center exhibit for the conservation education center.

At their monthly meeting, the board discussed the proposal for the interactive display from McCullough Creative in Dubuque which totals at $107,700. Naturalist Pam Holz says the proposal doesn’t include some additional costs such as shipping. Holz describes her vision for the new displays, “As we are planning this I am looking at it to be more of an open-ended interaction. So it’s not like you find all the pictures in the tree and then you’re done and that’s it, and after that all it is is a noise maker for kids. I think this has a lot more flexibility overall with it and there’s a lot of potential.”

Holz and Center Coordinator Kathy Dolan mentioned they envision the planned activity table to have several interchangeable tops. Holz said the board could choose to purchase all the displays at once, or go in phases over the next two years depending on funding. Holz anticipates installation of the new displays to begin next summer. The board’s subcommittee will meet Thursday to go over the specifics of the proposal before meeting with McCullough Creative.