Plains Talk Volume 43 Spring/Summer 2012(pdf - the State ...

Photograph by Brian R. Austin, SHSND
Construction Zone
One of the trickiest parts of any
renovation or expansion is figuring
out how to continue living in the
space without holding up the work. Almost
any home improvement show can
demonstrate the pitfalls of this process.
The Heritage Center expansion project
is reaching that point where in order to
complete the renovation on schedule,
some existing operations will be limited
for several months. This process will
impact visitor experiences to the state
museum.
This has happened to some extent
since the beginning of construction in
March 2011. If you were looking for the
offices of some of the staff during the
last year, you might have found them
scattered throughout the building while
their office spaces were renovated. If you
visited the Main Gallery, you will have
noted that portions of the exhibit space
have been walled off and cleared so that
an opening connecting the existing space
to the new galleries could be built. You
might also have noted that some of the
objects on display have been removed
for conservation. The auditorium and
project and classrooms available for public
use have been closed because of the
renovation.
Main Gallery Temporarily
Closing in Ocober
In October 2012 workers will begin to
transform the mezzanine into a creative
new children’s area. The main entrance
and lobby will remain open. The store
will be relocated to the project room so
that the existing space can be renovated.
On October 15, 2012, the Main Gallery
will close. All objects on display
will be removed and conserved, and
some will be prepared for placement in
the new galleries. It will take several
months to empty out the space so that
work can begin in January 2013 on
renovating the gallery. While the Main
Gallery will be closed, please note that
the State Archives, the Museum Store,
agency offices, the Sperry Gallery,
and the Hall of Honors will remain
open. Additional programming will be
presented to provide interesting experiences
to visitors.
Join us for one last look at the
exhibits you have loved at our
public Last Hurrah Party in the Main
Gallery of the Heritage Center on
October 11-14, 2012. Find details
at history.nd.gov.
S o c i e t y Ne w S
The Corridor of History Hallway
extends from the new entrance
to the Heritage Center
past the new galleries to the
junction with the existing Main
Gallery. The opening that will
tie the new construction to the
Main Gallery is covered with
plywood at the present. Workers
are awaiting the clearance
of the Main Gallery; they will
then break open the plywood
and begin reconstruction of
the existing gallery.
What’s Opening in 2013?
By late spring 2013 the beautiful new
western entrance to the Heritage Center will
open. The new hallways will house the hadrosaur
fossil Dakota, the mastodon skeleton
now in the main gallery, the Birds of North
Dakota exhibit, four large new exhibit cases,
and other items. The new Museum Store,
the James River Café, the Great Plains Theater,
and the Russell Reid Auditorium will
also be open.
The Adaption Gallery: Geologic Time will
open to the public in the summer of 2013,
and the Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples
will open in the fall of 2013.
Coming in Fall 2014
The renovation of the existing gallery,
renamed the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday
and Today, is scheduled to be completed
in the fall of 2014, in time for the Grand
Reopening and celebration of the 125 th
anniversary of statehood.
As in any renovation project, our plans
may be subject to change as the project
progresses. There are a few things we can be
sure of: there will be interesting things to
see and do while the construction is underway,
the new galleries will be innovative
and exciting, and we will all be ready for a
big party when the project is completed in
November 2014!
Plains Plains Talk Talk • sPring/summer sPring/summer 2012
2012 31