By Kelly Youngblood
What does a simulated prairie fire, a glacier, and a life-size mammoth and bison have in common?
They can all be found at the brand new exhibit that officially opens this Sunday at the Museum of the Grand Prairie in Mahomet.
“The Grand Prairie Story” is the name of the new exhibit, which features both the natural and cultural history of the area from the time of glaciers to the present. The exhibit, which is located in the main gallery area of the museum, replaces the decade-old exhibit known as “Prairie Stories.”
Valerie Hall, curator of the museum for the last two years, says she is excited about how the project has turned out and feels the community will be too.
“(The exhibit) has really come together well. A lot of it is just how I pictured it, so I’m really thrilled about that,” she said.
The new exhibit has dozens of interactive elements that kids will love Hall said. Her personal favorite is a simulated prairie fire, but children will also be able see and touch fossils, early animal bones, and Native American weapons and tools, just to name a few.
The framework for the exhibit was drawn up four to five years ago, with the idea of incorporating more natural history into the aspects of cultural history that were already present at the museum.
With a $60,000 grant from the State of Illinois Public Museum Capitol Grants Program to cover the bulk of the cost, the museum was able to start construction last April.
Just one year later, the exhibit is complete and the museum staff is eager to see the community’s reaction.
“I think regular visitors to the museum will be pleasantly surprised at how different everything is,” Hall said.
Hall also hopes the community might gain a sense of how important it is to preserve the natural and cultural resources we have all around us.
“We’re all part of this story of Champaign County and East Central Illinois and it would be nice to see people have a deeper appreciation for that and a deeper understanding of that,” she said.
“The Grand Prairie Story” exhibit opens on Sunday, March 15 from 1-5 p.m. Light refreshments will be served, a ribbon-cutting will be held at 1:30 p.m. and guided living history tours are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Admission to the Museum of the Grand Prairie is always free. Donations are appreciated and go back into educational programming.