Meeting to feature museum expansion plans on Saturday

An informational presentation based on proposed plans for the building expansion to the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library and Village will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. Admission to the museum at 1031 N. Bridge Ave. will be free.

During the Saturday program there will be several 15-minute PowerPoint presentations explaining the future expansion plans followed by question and answer sessions.

“The museum is at a turning point. Our current space does not allow us to continue accepting new items or displaying properly the ones we have. To move forward we need to expand to better meet the needs of Freeborn County residents,” Pat Mulso, the museum’s executive director, explained.

Mulso lists the following that will be part of the project to expand the museum’s main building on North Bridge Avenue: new entrance, convenient parking, elevator to allow easier access to both floors, expanded library, meeting rooms, additional restrooms, new Albert Lea High School exhibit, expanded exhibit space and exhibit lounges, children’s learning lab, expanded archive space and storage and work areas.

At the present time there is $450,000 in the historical society’s building fund. Mulso confirmed this amount and added that the goal for the building’s expansion is $1.7 million. The anticipated groundbreaking for the project is the spring of 2012.