New exhibits just the start of busy summer for St. Joseph Museums

Jul. 1—From archaeology to paleontology and early museum history, the St. Joseph Museums' new and diverse set of exhibits is setting the table for its fully renovated south wing this summer.

The museum cut the ribbon on four new large exhibits in June for paleontology, archaeology, world cultures and "A Cabinet of Curiosities," which explores the roots of early museums going back to the 16th century. The exhibits are part of phase one of the south wing's re-opening.

"Visitors have been giving us really, really good feedback. And it's been fun to get some new exhibits with some of our items that have been in our collection but haven't been out on display for a long time," said Sara Wilson, director of St. Joseph Museums.

The museum's paleontology exhibit features a large sculpture of a Parasaurolophus Missouriensis, the official state dinosaur of Missouri. The plant-eating, duck-billed dinosaur has been a popular addition with children thus far.

"That's everybody's favorite. When we ask the kids 'What's your favorite?' it's the dinosaur,'" Wilson said.

Come August, the museum is primed to unveil another series of new exhibits as part of its Native American gallery. The opening will mark the culmination of more than a year's worth of work doing renovations, painting murals and installing new exhibits after a pipe burst flooded the area last May. Repair costs ranged between $50,000 and $60,000.

Flooding caused the museum to have to take down many of its previous exhibits. As difficult as it was to suffer the loss of historical items, museum staff quickly regrouped and were determined to create a variety of new ideas that are now coming to life, Wilson said.

"We are going to have an immersive earth lodge that visitors can walk into, and they're going to get to sit in there and hear some stories from the Iowa tribe. They're graciously offering to give us some stories that we can share with visitors," she said.

Other planned phase two additions in the Native American Gallery include exhibits on Native American beadwork and basketry. The museum is just more than halfway done with the second phase of installations.

With touch-screen displays and QR code technology, renovations have allowed the museum to incorporate new ways of presenting information and history to visitors.

"We've done a lot of work with technology so that teachers and visitors can kind of come in and really dive into those objects through using their phones or computers," Wilson said.

Some of the museum's display casings contain dozens of items, so QR codes in specific areas now allow visitors to select and view each item and learn detailed information about its origin and significance.

"All of this is being partially funded by the Missouri Humanities Council and Freedom's Frontier," Wilson said. "So we're really grateful for their grant support to help us be able to do these exhibits."