FRESNO, CA.- A Museum is an exercise in hope. The impact that the arts play in the lives of the people that they touch and the experiences and memories that they create are life-long. Museums change people and communities over generations. While we may never know what caused the creative spark in a child during a museum visit we can see the fire of innovation, change and growth in our community that it ignited.

Your support has helped to keep this hope alive and burning in Fresno. The Fresno Metropolitan Museum has served nearly 3 million people over the last 25 years; 60% of those children. While we may never know if it was a visit to the Met that eventually led a child into a globally changing career in science or allowed a young artist to be inspired to change Fresno for the better, we do know that along with you we were there for a time, ready and able to light the fire.

It is with a heavy heart today that the Met says goodbye, closing its doors after more than two decades in Fresno. While the Museum has closed, please know that your support was not in vain; you helped to provide wonderful Museum experiences and allowed hundreds of thousands of families to grow together, learn, and see the world in a new way. Those memories will last a lifetime and for that gift we are eternally grateful.