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Museum grants from Collier County’s tourist tax will support a variety of projects next year, from a Brazilian exhibition at the Naples Botanical Garden to black bears at the Naples Zoo.

Collier County commissioners recently approved $506,000 in grants for five projects. The county didn’t have enough money to give everyone what they wanted.

A few new groups applied for the money this year.

“We funded everyone that applied. But we did reduce the funding for really everybody,” said Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The grants were recommended by the Tourist Development Council, or TDC. The council advises the county on tourism issues.

The Marco Island Historical Society will get the most money, receiving $125,000 for the construction of its first museum building called Heritage Hall. The building will include exhibits about the early history of Marco Island.

The society received half the money it requested. But the project will move ahead with money from a capital campaign.

“We have sufficient money to build the building. This one building. We don’t have enough money to build the entire complex,” said Bill Perdichizzi, the society’s vice president for administration and a co-chairman for the capital campaign.

The society expects to ask for another grant next year. The money it didn’t get would have primarily paid for display cases, Perdichizzi said.

This is the society’s second museum grant from the county. It received $25,000 to create the model for the museum complex, which it has used to support its capital campaign. The total value of the project is $9 million.

With the new complex, supporters plan to bring back artifacts from the Calusa Indians that are now scattered about the country.

The county awarded the second largest museum grant to the Naples Zoo, which will get $121,000 to help build a 6,000-square-foot exhibit for black bears. The zoo had asked for $242,200 but David Tetzlaff, zoo director, isn’t complaining.

“We’re happy,” he said. “It’s the first time we’ve applied for a TDC grant. To us, this is found money.”

The zoo wants to add bears because they’re among the animals most requested by visitors.

“This is an outstanding starting point for our bear habitat,” Tetzlaff said.

The zoo plans a fundraising event on Feb. 22 for the project.

“We are hoping between the grant, and the signature event and any other earmarked donations we get that we will be able to build a very nice bear habitat,” Tetzlaff said.

The goal is to raise $500,000 from all sources, he said.

The target for opening the new exhibit is early 2009.

“We have a basic concept, and actually we are putting together an advisory committee of experts on Florida black bears to design the habitat,” Tetzlaff said.

Other grant recipients include The Naples Botanical Garden, which has been awarded $110,000 for three Brazilian-themed exhibits, including one that will showcase the country’s birds and butterflies. Also planned is an orchid show and a carnival that will include Brazilian performers.

The exhibits go with a new Brazilian garden, which is part of a $45 million expansion.

“The county money is specifically for marketing, which is one of the most challenging sources of money to find,” said Brian Holley, the attraction’s executive director.

The marketing will primarily target Miami, where there is a large Brazilian population, and neighboring counties.

The garden asked for $220,600. It will seek money from corporations and other groups to supplement the county grant, Holley said.

The exhibitions will begin in December, he said.

Another grant will go to the Southwest Florida Holocaust Museum, which will receive $100,000 for an authentic boxcar exhibit at the Naples Depot Museum downtown. It had hoped to receive $300,000.

The exhibit will have to be smaller, unless the museum can raise other money, said Miriam Ross, executive director.

The boxcar journeyed from Austria to Naples. It’s one of six authentic boxcars in the U.S. that were used during the Holocaust to transport millions of victims to death camps under tortuous conditions.

The exhibit will debut in early 2008. The museum hopes to eventually have its own building to house the boxcar, and soon will launch a capital campaign to raise money for the project, Ross said.

The Naples Art Association, housed at the von Liebig Art Center downtown, also received $50,000 to help promote its events and educational programs including Art in the Park, the Naples National Art Festival and the Naples Renaissance Festival.

The association asked for $139,500.

County commissioners have approved another $78,500 in marketing grants that will come from the tourist tax.

Friends of Rookery Bay received $25,000 and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida got $32,000 to promote existing exhibits. The United Arts Council was awarded $21,500 for the production of a community calendar for cultural events.

Friends of Rookery Bay and the Conservancy applied for larger museum grants. But the two attractions won’t be considered for those until they increase their attendance, Wert said.

The grant money became available Oct. 1. It comes from a 4 cent tax the county collects at hotels, campgrounds and other short-term rentals.

The tax also pays for beach improvements, tourism research and visitors bureau marketing.