By Laura Spencer
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-663608.mp3
Kansas City, MO – The Kansas City Museum this weekend offers its last public programming inside Corinthian Hall until at least 2010. KCUR's Laura Spencer reports.
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Starting this month, more than 16 thousand objects in the Kansas City Museum's collection, including a Conestoga Wagon, antique clothing, and Native American artifacts, will be moved into storage. Construction is expected to begin by the first of March to replace the exterior windows and doors of Corinthian Hall, the former R.A. Long Mansion, which has housed the museum since 1940. Museum Director Christopher Leitch says during construction, the museum will take programming on the road and into the community through lectures, workshops, and catalogues.
Christopher Leitch: "We need to keep our collections accessible to the public and available and visible, so we're also producing a series of exhibits in print."
A temporary visitors' center and the museum's retail store will be open in a building north of the Carriage House. Planetarium programs will continue as scheduled. And the museum is expected to create an outdoor panel exhibit on the history of the R.A. Long family. Funds have not yet been allocated, but officials are hoping to also replace the HVAC system to provide a temperature and humidity-controlled space for museum artifacts. Laura Spencer, KCUR News.