Museum Receives $500K Donation

An avid lover of the outdoors, Paul J. Zofnass ’69 has made a $500,000 donation to the Harvard Museum of Natural History—the largest gift the Museum has received since its inception in 1998—for a new exhibit depicting the interactions that take place in a New England forest ecosystem.

The Zofnass exhibit will be the first to incorporate elements from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard University Herbaria, and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum, which jointly employ the Museum of Natural History as their public gallery, according to MCZ Director James Hanken.

The exhibit, entitled “New England Forests: The Zofnass Family Gallery,” is set to open in the spring of 2011. It seeks to make visitors feel as though they are actually walking on a curvy path through the forest, Hanken said.

Zofnass, an alumnus of Harvard Business School and the Law School as well as the College, said he is pleased that the display’s unique setup will be markedly different from traditional exhibits that showcase preserved animals behind panes of glass.

“It’s more interesting, it’s more novel, and more informative,” Hanken said.

A member of the Harvard University Center on the Environment—a network of University affiliates that encourages environmental research and education—Zofnass said he is excited to stay involved with the plans for the new exhibit.

“This little exhibit is simply one little step for Harvard in what it’s done in the past for the environment,” said Zofnass, who is the president and founder of the Environmental Financial Consulting Group Inc., a New York City firm that advises environmental and engineering/consulting firms.

“I really hope that [the youth] will take away a deep appreciation for how important our natural environment is,” Zofnass said. “The woods, the woodlands, the New England forests—it’s kind of all around us. What I’m hopeful is that kids and visitors see how these processes interact with each other, support each other, and better appreciate that you really need to keep it.”

Hanken said that Zofnass’ donation will help Harvard to improve the Museum of Natural History by integrating current events in the scientific field and showcasing the research of Harvard faculty.

As a way to share his love for the environment, Zofnass said he began developing the land adjacent to his barn outside New York City into a land trust preserve in 1985. In 2001, he opened the Westchester Wilderness Walk, a 150-acre sanctuary that includes a 10-mile trail.

“We were surrounded by woods, and I made it a mission of mine to preserve as much of it as I could,” he said.

Zofnass said he has fond memories of growing up in Belmont, Mass. and walking through the forest on his route to and from middle school. He said he hopes that this new exhibit will also have a lasting impact on young visitors.

—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at xyu@college.harvard.edu.