Overview:
Longmont Museum reopened Oct. 17 after a nearly $10 million expansion, adding new family-friendly features and 70% more public exhibit space.
Longmont residents packed into the newly expanded Longmont Museum on Saturday, Oct. 17, celebrating the return of galleries that had been largely closed for more than a year. Before the doors opened, Museum Director Erik Mason and Longmont Mayor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring addressed a crowd gathered outside for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“I hope families throughout our community will come explore, play, learn and make lasting memories for years to come,” Hidalgo-Fahring said. “So, congratulations and let’s celebrate the future of the Longmont Museum.”
Cheers followed as the ribbon was cut and visitors streamed inside, quickly forming lines for some of the museum’s newest attractions. Among the busiest was DreamLab, a permanent children’s exhibition in Lila’s Children’s Gallery featuring a dragon castle, crystal cave, mushroom forest and other interactive spaces designed to encourage imaginative play.
“It’s so busy,” said Maddie Vigilic, who waited in line for DreamLab with her family. “I would say everybody is so happy. I was tearing up because, as somebody who’s taught many children with special needs, there is not a lot of spaces that have been adapted for them or have been intentionally created for everybody.”
In addition to attending the opening as a visitor, Vigilic also consulted on education and safety for DreamLab over the past year. She said accessibility was considered throughout the design process, including through conversations with families whose children have disabilities.
“We interviewed families that had children with all different needs, from wheelchairs to visually impaired,” Vigilic said. “And just like every single thing, so every little detail of this space has accommodated everyone in some small way.”
DreamLab was developed largely in-house, with museum staff designing and fabricating many of its interactive features. Giovanni Gorolla, an exhibition staff member, designer and fabricator, worked on sculptures, lighting and interactive components throughout the space.
“Most of my work was done fabricating the sculptures, the spaces, the interactive components, a lot of coding and lighting installation for the cave and the rope pole,” Gorolla said. “A lot of just unique manufacturing components that you can’t get at the store.”
The children’s gallery is one piece of a nearly $10 million expansion that added 70% more public gallery space to the museum. Mason said construction created significant challenges because much of the renovation cut through the center of the existing building.
“The biggest challenge was this renovation ended up coming right through the middle of the museum,” Mason said. “Our lobby was torn up. We had to operate it out of a temporary entrance for quite a while. This hallway (the west hallway), they actually had to cut a trench down the middle of this hallway for water lines.”
Although the galleries were closed, the museum continued hosting programs in the Stewart Auditorium, including Early Childhood Discovery Days and summer camps.
“We felt like we continued to provide great service and programs to the community,” Mason said. “We’re glad now that the noise and the dust is all gone, we can invite everybody back into the full building.”
The expansion also includes the new Bill Stewart Feature Gallery, which opened with “Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Portrait.” The exhibition includes 98 photographs, personal letters and notes offering a look at Kahlo’s life and relationships. It runs through Jan. 31.
Catherine Medal explored the exhibition with her husband, Lou, during the reopening celebration.
“I am so impressed that we have such a museum in Longmont, right in my backyard,” Medal said. “I’m very impressed that they opened with a fantastic gallery of a famous artist that we can explore today.”
Another exhibition, “Collected: Longmont’s History in 100 Objects,” remains under development and is expected to open in January. Visitors on reopening day could see an early preview with objects, archival video and handwritten materials already on display.
The renovation was funded through a capital campaign supported by the Stewart Family Foundation and hundreds of individual donors. The museum said the campaign raised nearly $10 million to fully fund construction.
“A special thank you to the Stewart Family Foundation,” Hidalgo-Fahring said. “And to the approximately 450 individual donors whose generosity helped this vision be a reality.”
Regular museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, with additional evening hours on most Thursdays. Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for youth, students and seniors, and free for children 2 and younger.
“What I really appreciate about the Longmont Museum is inviting every single person in,” Vigilic said. “This is part of Longmont. And now Longmont gets to also be a leader in spaces for all children of all abilities. It’s here to stay.”
