Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Arpa topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ames History Museum reports ARPA-funded expansion drew nearly three times prior visitors
Summary
Museum leaders told supervisors the ARPA-funded expansion opened last October, increasing exhibit space and visitors; they reported about 2,400 visitors in nine months versus 895 in the prior comparable period.
Representatives of the Ames History Museum told Story County supervisors on Aug. 5 that ARPA funds helped complete a museum expansion that opened to the public last Oct. 26 and has nearly tripled visitor counts. Museum staff said the expansion added two second-floor galleries (one permanent, one changing exhibit), a reading and research room, a rentable gathering hall and a collections vault that allows on-site storage of objects for the first time. The museum reported about 2,400 visitors in the nine months since reopening, compared with 895 visitors in the comparable preconstruction period (2022–23). Museum staff described the current changing exhibit, "Quilted Together," and said their next show — opening in November and running into 2026 — will mark the U.S. 250th anniversary with military uniforms, local Olympians and Pulitzer Prize winners from Ames’ history. No board action was required; the presentation served as an informational ARPA report.
