Residents of Chattanooga, Hamilton County and surrounding areas are invited to a preview of plans for the new Tennessee State Museum.
Earlier this month, Gov. Bill Haslam was joined by legislative leaders, museum officials and Jon Meacham, Pulitzer prize winner and New York Times bestselling author, to break ground on the new facility in Nashville. The state’s history, however, is shaped by communities from Memphis to Mountain City, so the statewide tour is planned to ensure that Tennesseans are aware of the project and have an opportunity to learn more about it in its early stages.
The public is invited to attend a presentation on Tuesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Barry Auditorium of the Health Science Center at Chattanooga State Community College located at 4501 Amnicola Hwy. in Chattanooga.
Members of the museum project and design team will be on hand to discuss the vision for the museum and to share early plans and renderings with the audience.
About the New Tennessee State Museum
In 2015, the governor proposed and the Tennessee General Assembly approved $120 million in the FY-2015-16 budget to build a new home for the Tennessee State Museum on the Bicentennial Mall to maximize the state’s rich history by creating a state-of-the-art educational asset and tourist attraction for the state. The governor also announced that $40 million would be raised in private funds for the project.
The Tennessee State Museum was established by statute in 1937 “to bring together the various collections of articles, specimens, and relics now owned by the State under one divisional head,” and “to provide for a transfer of exhibits wherever they may be.”
Today, the Tennessee State Museum is housed in the James K. Polk building in downtown Nashville, where it has been for nearly 35 years.
A 137,000 square foot facility will be built on the northwest corner of the Bicentennial Mall at the corner of Rosa L. Parks Boulevard and Jefferson Street. It is being designed to bring history to life and allow visitors to become part of the state’s history. Showcasing one-of-a-kind artifacts, historical documents and art, the museum will tell Tennessee’s story in a new, interactive and engaging way.
A “Tennessee Time Tunnel” will serve as the backbone feature of the museum in providing a chronological and experiential journey through Tennessee’s history.
The new Tennessee State Museum is scheduled to open in 2018.