After a slow 2011, the fundraising campaign for the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery is heading into what the museum is calling Warp Drive, an attempt to raise the final $2.8 million needed to reach its ultimate goal.

When fundraising began in 2005, a $26.7 million goal was set to construct the $14 million facility, furnish it with exhibits and crown the building with a digital dome. To date, the campaign has raised $23.9 million through a combination of city taxes and donations from corporations, foundations and individuals.

The museum will use the funds it has already raised to open on Nov. 10, with two initial phases of exhibits open to the public, as well as a patio and outdoor learning area.

The eventual openings of the third phase of exhibits, the digital dome and the outdoor amphitheater will depend on the outcome of Warp Drive, the official name for the museum's final funding push. The aim of the drive is to raise $1.4 million for the exhibits and amphitheater and $1.4 million for the construction of the digital dome by Dec. 31.

Warp Drive fundraising will include face-to-face meetings with potential donors, as well as written proposals, according to Annette Geiselman, co-executive director