A Big Change Coming: Update

by Erin Doane, Curator

Back at the end of December, I wrote about our plans to redesign the exhibit in the Museum’s bank gallery. Now, more than halfway through the process, it’s time for an update and a peek at what’s been happening.

For the last several weeks an army of student interns and volunteers have been removing all the old images and text from the gallery walls.  Now we have a clean canvas, so to speak, for the two new exhibits going into this gallery.

We have also completely rearranged the exhibit space.  In half of the gallery we will tell the story of Chemung County and in the other half we will explore Mark Twain's Elmira.  With the help of Naglee Fine Arts, we shifted walls, reset cases and moved some major artifacts including the billiard table and two very large mirrors that came from the Langdon Mansion.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be refilling the gallery with images and artifacts dating from the earliest days of Native American settlement to the end of the 20^th century.  We are also adding new, hands-on interactives so visitors can get closer to history.

Members of the Chemung County Historical Society will be the first to see these new exhibits at a special members only opening on February 27.  If you are a member, keep an eye out for your invitation in the mail.  If you are not already a member, join now so you can be part of this exclusive event!