HEMET - A little over a year after being on the verge of shutting down due to budget problems, a youth-oriented museum in downtown Hemet is on more stable footing, museum officials say.

Fingerprints Youth Museum, formerly known as KidZone Youth Museum, which serves children from throughout the Inland region, is no longer in danger of closing. However, it still needs financial support to remain viable, said Bob Duistermars, president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit organization that now runs the museum.

"It's an amazing community asset and we're working to keep it on the right track," Duistermars said.

The museum, which serves many low- and moderate-income families, features about a dozen interactive children's exhibits, including a miniaturized world for kids with a police station, medical office and more; play areas for toddlers; and rooms for rent for children's parties.

In late 2007, the then-board of KidZone stunned community members by announcing that the museum would close by the end of the year unless a funding source could be found.

Museum supporters came forward, allowing the facility to remain open until United Communities Network, a Hemet-based organization that spun off from Central County United Way, took control of the museum a few months later.

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Paul Alvarez / The Press- Enterprise

From left, Allison, Julia and Angel Parra, of Hemet, work on arts and crafts. Formerly called the KidZone Youth Museum, a name change to Fingerprints Youth Museum was decided upon in May.

Duistermars said the museum is now breaking even and is more financially stable, although it relies more on the support of patrons.

"When you look at all the (population) growth here, especially among the families, there really is a need for this place," Fingerprints board President Andrew Kotyuk said.

Kotyuk credited the facility's improving outlook to better community outreach, a greater emphasis on the museum's educational benefits and a more efficient organization, including having workers perform multiple functions and calling on more volunteers.

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Five-year-old Mason Denham, of San Jacinto, inspects a bone after digging in the paleo pit at the museum.

The museum's new name, which was decided in May, is also part of the effort to help change its direction, Duistermars said.

Under the KidZone name, Fingerprints Youth Museum started as a community project in downtown Riverside in October 1997. The museum moved to its Hemet location, a 10,000-square-foot space at 123 S. Carmalita St., in November 2001.

But even as the museum set down roots in Hemet, its finances were becoming dismal. One big problem was the expiration of a six-year lease that allowed the museum to stay in the building for $1 a year. Rent is now $2,000 a month.

Duistermars said the museum's new management is working to stabilize revenue, including fundraising more aggressively and partnering with schools and other groups.

In the past, he said, the museum had been overly reliant on support from public agencies, but that funding became less dependable when the region's economy began to flag.

"In a way, the availability of public money almost hurt their community fundraising efforts," Duistermars said.

He said it costs about $10,000 a month to run the museum. A combination of paid staff and volunteers oversee operations. About 8,100 children visited the museum in the past 12 months.

Reach Herbert Atienza at 951-763-3464 or hatienza@PE.com