MISSOULA — The National Museum of Forest Service History had its grand opening for the new National Conservation Legacy Center in Missoula on Friday.
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The 27,000-square-foot facility will showcase cultures and people involved in conservation history.
"It has been a long-time dream of the organization to build a world-class museum here in Missoula," museum executive director Lisa Tate told MTN. "People from all over the world can learn about America's conservation movement because it is so different from so many other countries."
The National Museum of Forest Service History has been collecting artifacts and documents for decades to piece together a timeline.
"This museum starts with the conservation efforts by the Native American people, the Indigenous people here all across the United States. And then the migration west and then the early days of conservation movement. And then it just comes right up into today," Tate said.
A goal for the nonprofit was to create a space where people could see historical items and interact with them.
"We have a big digital table that's called 'Rings of Change', and it's a giant tree cookie six feet wide that people can move a puck around the tree cookie. And every ring is 10 years' worth of content. So, as they move that, they can stop on any decade, and stories will pop up of what was happening in conservation history in America in that decade," Tate said.
Constructing the $23 million building was also a unique endeavor.
"It's an award-winning design by architect Tom Chung. He is a renowned mass timber architect. So, we have 14 different forest products companies that have contributed materials to the building and their products to showcase mass timber, which is kind of a wave of the future in terms of green building," Tate said.
The museum is located down the road from Missoula's airport on Highway 10. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day of the week excluding major holidays.
