After operating out of a rented building for 30 years, the national museum of natural history (NMNH) is hoping for a new campus soon. “The present environment minister is the first one to seriously consider the demand for a new campus for the museum,” an official who didn’t wish to be named said.

The ministry of environment and forests ministry is also said to be in talks with the prime minister’s office on the issue. “Things seem to be moving fast,” the official added.

The official said that the parking area of the India trade promotion organisation (ITPO) belongs to the zoo authority and there have been discussions to allot that area to the museum. “Nothing has been finalised as of now,” the official added.

Naaz Rizvi, a scientist at the NMNH said that the museum is also adding two more regional centres to the existing three. “One regional centre is coming up at Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan while the other one is coming up at Gangtok,” she said. Rizvi aded that the existing regional centres have their own individual campus and the new ones will have their own space too.

Speaking at the valedictory function of a week-long programme for special children organised at the museum on Tuesday, B Venugopal, director of NMNH said that the first Braille publication in Asia was published by NMNH.  “We have also been training people to sensitise them to the needs of the disabled for 20 years,” he added.

Talking about the programme, D P Singh, senior scientist at the museum said that the aim of this programme was to bring a smile on the faces of these children. “These kids need an opportunity, not sympathy,” he added.

Essay writing competitions and other competitions were also a part of the programme and prizes for these were also handed out on Tuesday.