The Islands’ premiere historic building, the home of the National Museum, is opening its doors to Chamber members and specially invited guests to show off the outcome of the recently completed restoration programme, on Thursday, 11 December, at
5:30 p.m., in a special Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours.
It will offer an opportunity for the membership to see the restoration in its “raw” state, explains Chairman of the Museum Board Harris McCoy, who said that once the exhibits were installed they would inhibit visitors’ ability to see the building to its full advantage.
Damaged in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan, the Museum has undergone painstaking restoration that has sought to preserve the buildings’ historical integrity while modernising it to more capably serve the institution’s audiences. Rejuvenated, the facility is now truly ready to be home to many of Cayman’s prized artefacts and to serve as a key national learning
centre.
As the facility prepares to re-open formally in the first quarter of 2009, high on the agenda is a plan to enshrine the buildings as part of the Islands’ national heritage. This follows consultants’ recommendations during the restoration process that the Museum buildings themselves, with the Old Gaol as its flagship, should be promoted internationally
for heritage site status.
The Chamber event has a special significance for the Museum, as the first major event to be staged since the restoration commenced two-a-half years ago. “We are launching our new logo and our new membership programme at this Chamber Business After Hours,” Museum Chairman Harris McCoy said, explaining that the Minister of Culture, the Hon. Alden McLaughlin, would
be officiating.
But the most exciting aspect of the Business After Hours, Mr. McCoy said, was that “it offers Chamber members and guests a post-restoration preview of the buildings before the offical opening in the new year.”
The event also launches the Museum Gift Shop, as a prelude to the resumption of normal operations in first quarter of 2009. At that time, exhibits will be introduced in a phased programme, beginning with the Natural History Gallery, Cultural History Gallery, and AV Theatre.
Members and guests can expect to receive a guided tour of the renovated building, have the opportunity to browse the gift shop, while also learning more about the Museum’s volunteer and membership programmes.