'Under construction'
Revitalization project starts
The atmosphere in the museum these days is charged with excitement as we continue work on our revitalization plans. They include refurbished exhibits with 11 'story islands,' a new interior entranceway and a rebuilt education area. For the past month a group of dedicated volunteers, under the leadership of Phil Vere, has begun construction of the curbing that will define the borders of the new exhibits.
The idea for the curbing was inspired by the Museum of Flight in Seattle and Phil and his team have devised a way to replicate the design while keeping the cost of the work to an absolute minimum.
"I saw the design and I thought, 'Gee, I think we can do this,'" says Vere. "We purchased the wood, had it cut at a company that does water-jet cutting and are in the process of assembling them."
The result is a series of pre-cut curbs that can be linked to create the curves and straight lines needed to form the islands. An added feature, says Vere, is that they can be taken apart and placed somewhere else. "Using standard pieces allowed us to keep it as simple as possible and mix and match."
Also contributing their labours to the project are volunteers Jamie McQuarrie, Bill Graham and Ted Mageau. Curator Lech Lebiedowski is working to design what the new displays will look like.
The team is hoping to start installing the curbs for the first few islands early this month, with work on the displays beginning soon after.
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