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Indiana State Museum Opening New Galleries

Alyson Hurt
/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alykat/4472360236

The Indiana State Museum opens three new galleries to the public this week, kicking off a series of renovations museum officials hope will leave visitors with more awareness about the footprint they’re making on the land.

A new gallery at the Indiana State Museum showcases the state’s natural history, with plant and animal props populating a number of dioramas. One section of the room features a group of woodland creatures, including a raccoon on top of something you don’t typically see in a museum display – an overflowing trash can.

Associate Vice President of Exhibitions Beth Van Why says garbage is a symbolic, important part of the state’s natural history.

“The decision to litter can change everything around you. The decision to plant an invasive species…you might love that tree, but if it’s not from the region, that can change the entire ecosphere around you," Van Why says. 

Another new exhibit looks at Indiana’s role in early American conflicts, and a third looks at the complex relationship between incoming settlers and Native American tribes.

This group of galleries, which took a year-and-a-half to complete, represents phase one of a five-step expansion the museum says will be complete in 2019.

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