COEUR d'ALENE - The Museum of North Idaho is calling for people to get on board for its first membership drive.

Many are responding.

"It's going really well," said Dorothy Dahlgren, who has been the museum's director for more than 30 years. She said the museum has 60 new members.

The museum had about 535 members at the launch of the drive, which began March 1 and continues until mid-April. Robert Singletary, museum program and marketing director, said they are hoping to reach 600 and 700 after the drive, with the ultimate goal of 1,000 members.

"It's not just getting people into the museum; it's getting people to support the museum in terms of members," Singletary said.

Support for the museum can come in many forms. Anyone can donate money, volunteer or be a paying member. Membership dues cover about 20-25 percent of the operating budget.

As the budget increases, Singletary said, the number of members should also increase.

The museum recruited about 25 people for its membership team.

"There are many different ways to get members to join, and we figure one of the best ways is for people to make personal contacts through their friends, through relatives, through business contacts," he said. "We've asked these volunteers to go out and just simply make those contacts."

The museum is involved in publishing, tours, lectures, interacting with area schools and the community. Singletary said they are hoping to relocate to a larger building, since about 5 percent of the museum's holdings are in storage.

Membership benefits include a quarterly newsletter, free admission to the museum and 10 percent off books and museum store purchases.

Membership levels are available at $25, $50 or $100.

The Museum of North Idaho, 115 Northwest Blvd., will open for the season in early April.

Info: www.museumni.org or 664-3448

Museum to open April 2

This season's featured exhibit at the Museum of North Idaho, "Shaping the Handle: Idaho Territory 1863-1890," commemorates the 150th anniversary of the creation of Idaho Territory.

The Museum of North Idaho, 115 Northwest Blvd., opens for the season Tuesday, April 2.

The exhibit explores what was happening in the Idaho Panhandle during those early years: westward expansion, the new gold mining district, the "discovered" people already here (The Coeur d'Alene Tribe), steamboats on the lake, railroad construction, stage lines and more.

The Museum of North Idaho is joining the Idaho State Historical Society's yearlong celebration, "Get Territorial: Idaho at 150," a grassroots effort among state agencies, communities, and individuals across the state to educate Idahoans about their heritage and commemorate the 150-year milestone.

"The Idaho Territorial Sesquicentennial will shape our state by helping people of all ages explore and appreciate the territorial roots of contemporary Idaho and create lasting legacies for the future," said a press release.

Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children 6-16, with kids younger than 6 free, and a family rate of $7 for two adults and children younger than 16.