Since the announcement of renovations to Sandel Hall, the question if ULM’s Museum of Natural History would have a home was still in the air last semester.

Now that renovations will be underway later this spring, the museum can rest easy knowing its exhibit will stay on campus and Hanna Hall will eventually be the home of the museum.

After the Walker Hall fire that occurred in June 2012, all classroom and office space relocated the museum’s previous plans, moving displays to the second floor of Hanna Hall and research collections to Brown Stadium.

“Everything is on schedule. We started moving some of the research materials to Brown,” said Thomas Sasek, director of the Museum of Natural History and professor of biology.

According to Sasek, the research collections will be moved this semester and will be moving to Hanna when the renovations to Sandel are complete.

Sandel Hall is still on schedule for its renovations, but the museum will have a temporary space in Hanna later this spring.

Along with the museum, the bookstore will also be moving into Hanna during the renovations. “Once Sandel is finished in a couple of years, the bookstore will move back to Sandel,” said Sasek.

No timeline has been announced for the dates on renovation and completion.

Sasek said he has not heard of any timeline for the renovations of Hanna for the displays and renovations to the bookstore will be done at the same time.

The Museum of Natural History has been a prized feature at ULM. It has the largest herbarium in the state along with thousands of preserved specimens.

The museum is also listed on the Louisiana “Heroes and Heritage Trail,” a list of the best places to visit in the state, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Eventually, the first and second floors of Hanna will be the museum’s home, the first being for the exhibits and the second for the research collections.

According to Sasek, everything with the museum is going as planned.