DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — At the new storage site for the Door County Maritime Museum, a recent expansion could lead to more educational programs and may even bring the museum one step closer to national accreditation.
They’re still moving into the building on South Columbia Street.
We spoke with the Maritime Museum about the expansion, watch below:
"There’s a bonus buried in all this we’re now able to see every single item in our collection," Kevin Osgood, the CEO of the Maritime Museum, said.
Osgood says with 26,000 square feet, it's more than five times the space they had before.
"We have a lot more than we realized," he said. "We just packed those two buildings really, really well."
The new space will also include an education center for student research and support the museum’s efforts to earn accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.
"Only, I want to say, three percent of museums in the U.S. are accredited and that’s what we’re working toward right now," Kay Dragan, the Curator for the Maritime Museum said.
Dragan has been helping move the collection piece by piece almost every day.
"Everything’s gone," Dragan said. "The only thing left is shelving, and it just kind of puts into perspective all of the stuff that’s in the new place was jammed in here."
The museum purchased the unit in June, thanks to support from several foundations and a $182,500 "Save America’s Treasures" grant from the National Park Service.
"This is the beginning of the next chapter in the museum’s history and it’s pretty exciting to be a part of," Osgood said.
The next step is renovating part of the building for the new research center. While the original plan was to move out of their current space by September 2, Osgood says it’ll likely be closer to September 15 to get everything fully settled in.
