Our Mission

The mission of the Natural History Society of Maryland is to foster stewardship of Maryland’s natural heritage by conserving its natural history collections, educating its citizenry, and inspiring its youth to pursue careers in the natural sciences.

Who We Are

The Natural History Society of Maryland (NHSM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation founded in 1929. Its extensive collections of Maryland flora, fauna, fossils, and minerals, dating back to the early 1800’s, are a rare and valuable asset to the State of Maryland. Many of the items that were on display in the Natural History Museum in Druid Hill Park from 1936 to the early 1970’s are still in our collection. (See the Our History section for more information.)

The Turning Point

In 2000 the Board of the NHSM re-evaluated the organization's mission. Since it’s establishment in 1929, many other natural history organizations and numerous nature centers had been formed. Many had been serving a similar purpose by offering lectures and nature walks, but often in a natural setting. It was obvious that our small building in Baltimore City was not appropriate for these types of programs.

We listed our assets and at the top of our list was our collection. We realized that if we ever needed to disburse them, there was no place in Maryland that could take them. We also realized that there were many other collections in the state in the same situation.

So it was decided that we would focus our efforts on saving, conserving, and utilizing these collections; as well as creating an atmosphere where groups with diverse natural history interests could work together. Over a 3 year period we assembled an advisory committee and worked on both a long-term and short-term plan to establish a comprehensive natural history museum in Maryland.

After promoting our plan to numerous groups and individuals, we found tremendous support for our ideas. (Many of these ideas had been around for decades, but putting them down on paper seemed to give them more weight.) The Board then decided it was time to make a move. We managed to raise enough funds to show we were serious about our plan and initiated a search for a new location. After more than a year of looking at buildings either in the wrong location or at the wrong price, we came across a 9,000 square foot building with a large parking lot located in the county (just over the city line) on Belair Road. After another year of negotiations and applying for loans at five banks, we finally secured a loan with Susquehanna Bank for $600,000. In September of 2006, we took the leap and purchased the property in Overlea. The fun was just about to start.

The loan stipulated that we must sell our Charles Village property as soon as possible to pay down a large portion of our mortgage. After over a year of tremendous volunteer effort, we managed to move our entire collection to our new location and make minor repairs to the Charles Village building. After only a few weeks on the market, the property sold for $230,000 and we were able to pay down our mortgage on our new location by $200,000. We were back to one property, but we now had a place that suited our needs.

Where We Are Now

A small space in the new location has been renovated for our office and meeting areas. The main hall, which is approximately 100 feet by 45 feet, needs to be renovated before we open it to the public as an exhibit and lecture hall. Our collection is housed in the basement, which is also in need of renovation. We recently received 150 collection cabinets from the Smithsonian. These will eventually house our collection and provide plenty of space for additional specimens.

By 2000, our Board was down to five very hard working members. We now have 11 dedicated members and plans to have a full board of 15 members by the end of 2009.

In the Fall of 2007, the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School MBA Fellows Program created a business plan for the NHSM. By following this plan, we will be able to raise the funds we need to pay off our mortgage, hire a director, and do minor renovations to our new facility. All this will happen over the next five years.

The future of the NHSM is looking bright! Please help us by volunteering or making a donation!