“So, this is a facility that’s has existed for a long time. We’ve been here for 26 years.”
The Grand Rapids Public Museum’s chief curator Alex Forist joined community members opening the museum’s renovated archive space in the 200 block of Washington Street Southeast.
“We are, for the first time, opening up public access spaces with classrooms and artifact labs and meeting rooms to give the public even more access to their collections.”
The archive boasts 250,000 artifacts and specimens, or around 95% of the museum’s collection not currently on display. The nearly $4 million renovation allows for in-person inspection and hands-on learning opportunities, something Forist says is rare for a museum.
“Last week, when we would bring a group of third graders through here, they’d be sitting on the floor in the hallway and have nowhere to do an activity. We are, I think, really at the cutting edge by having this artifact lab that we’re standing in right now directly adjacent to collection storage.”
The project was funded by private donors, the State of Michigan, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
