North Dakota Heritage Center Expansion Opens on 125th Anniversary of Statehood

TORONTO, ONTARIO — On November 2, the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum in Bismarck will celebrate its grand opening which coincides with the State’s 125th anniversary. The $52 million museum expansion includes three new permanent exhibition galleries, a temporary exhibition space, and new facilities for education, staff and collections storage. Lord Cultural Resources, in partnership with Xibitz and Taylor Studios, was engaged to lead the transformation of the Heritage Center’s permanent exhibition. Lord Cultural Resources is proud to have supported the Center’s staff to achieve its vision by providing project management, interpretive planning, design and content development, interpreting more than 500 million years of North Dakota’s history over for 33,000 square feet of new exhibitions.

"It has been an honor and pleasure to work with the community, staff and team throughout this expansion over the last three years,” says Maria Piacente, Vice President, Exhibitions, Lord Cultural Resources. “We are excited to share in the successful opening of all three galleries for the expanded North Dakota Heritage Center which will delight and inspire visitors for years to come.”

The Heritage Center’s new permanent exhibition is divided among three galleries: Adaptation Gallery: Geologic Time; Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples; and Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. The new gallery exhibits will take visitors through history dating back before the ice-age to today, incorporating thousands of artifacts and specimens, high tech displays, and interactive exhibits. Congratulations to our client on the successful opening!

You can join the festivities of the official 125th Birthday of North Dakota by exploring a the newly expanded North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum. For details, visit: www.history.nd.gov/125

***Adaptation Gallery: Geologic Time***. From the monstrous sea creatures living in primordial oceans to the rise and extinction of dinosaurs, from tropical swamplands with crocodiles and palm trees to the appearance of mammals at the end of the ice age, this is the fascinating story of geology and life in North Dakota.

**Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples**. Devoted to the Native peoples of North Dakota with highlights of the beauty and breadth of the State Museum’s collections, visitors encounter the tribes of North Dakota, both as they were before contact with European-Americans and also as the sovereign nations they are today.

**Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today**. Story of North Dakota and its people through a variety of themes that continues to shape history: agricultural innovation; industry and energy; settlement, immigration and migration; conflict and war; our lives, communities and cultural expressions.

Lord Cultural Resources is the world’s largest global professional practice dedicated to creating cultural capital having conducted over 2,000 cultural projects in 55 countries on 6 continents. We collaborate with people and organizations to plan and manage cultural places, programs and resources that deliver excellence in the service of society. Visit www.lord.ca for more information.

For media information, please contact Andrea Ott at aott@lord.ca.

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