Ecotarium

Worcester science museum the EcoTarium received $1.1 million in funding from the federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, the nonprofit announced Thursday.

Worcester science museum The EcoTarium announced on Thursday its workers have voted to join the union AFSCME Council 93, over the objections of the museum board.

Lucy Hale, the president and CEO of the Worcester science museum EcoTarium, will step down from her role on May 28, when her three-year contract ends.

Worcester's EcoTarium has sold a 323-acre camp site in Rutland where it long held kids retreats but found in more recent years it wasn't so easy to utilize.

Two of the biggest visitor attractions in Central Massachusetts, the EcoTarium in Worcester and Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, are scheduled to reopen next month. 

People are on the move at Webster Five, Slowey McManus, RemodelWerks and more.

Worcester science museum EcoTarium announced Friday it will lose 24 staff positions when it closes for the fall and winter on Sept. 4, as it struggles with reduced revenue in the coronavirus pandemic.

Quickly picking up on technology has become a necessary skill these days for museums more accustomed to bringing in crowds to see artwork, watch and hear animals in their habitats, or experience first-hand the wonders of science.

The former CEO of Hanover Insurance Group in Worcester and his wife, the former interim president of the EcoTarium in Worcester, said they will match donations in a drive to help the science and nature museum recover some of the anticipated $1.6 million in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With events canceled across the state and most hospitality businesses considered non-essential, the Central Massachusetts tourism industry is anticipating major losses due to the efforts to stem the coronavirus pandemic.