LARAMIE - The University of Wyoming will reopen its geological museum to the public part time starting next month, using private money from its fundraising arm.

The university announced Saturday that the UW Foundation will provide money to hire a security guard, allowing the museum to reopen to visitors Aug. 24.

University spokeswoman Jessica Lowell said officials are still working out the details on which hours and days the museum will be open to the public.

The S.H. Knight Geology Museum includes a number of world-class specimens, including dinosaur skeletons. It remains open to faculty and students for teaching and research, but earlier this month the university closed it to the public because of state budget cuts.

The university lost 10 percent of its state funding and decided to save $80,000 by closing the museum to visits from the public, eliminating the jobs of curator and two part-time workers.

That drew protests from paleontologists and educators who said schoolchildren and others were losing access to a valuable resource.

Lowell didn't know the final amount the foundation had agreed to donate to pay for security, but she said it would be a fraction of the money saved laying off the three museum workers.

She said those people will not get their jobs back as part of the reopening.