The Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport will soon unveil a long-anticipated expansion that will unearth portions of the state’s path that up until now have only been seen by very few, as reported by BRProud.

The awaited exhibit at this Louisiana State Museum will depict the state of Louisiana’s historical journey throughout several centuries, allowing observing visitors to tour the museum’s wing and take in magically-crafted murals that hang above diramas depicting the daily lives of Louisiana inhabitants from several eras.

The scope of Louisiana’s history is not in the least narrow, as the exhibit is set to display the many diverse periods in the state’s history from plantations and farming to the rise of oil productions. In addition to a visual retelling of past Louisiana events, many prehistoric discoveries found in Northern Louisiana will be on display in the exhibit, with the oldest item being a 21,000-year-old Mammoth tooth. Though technically discovered outside of the area, it’s positioned to represent the types of natural lifeforms that were once roaming around the backyards of Cajun and Creole country.

The Louisiana State Exhibit Museum opened in Shreveport in 1939 and has accumulated a treasured wealth of artifacts over the past eight decades, making the displaying of particular pieces troublesome. In many cases, museum curators have to decide which selections will be displayed on museum walls as opposed to being stored in the basement due to a general lack of space.

This Louisiana State Museum was established as one of the Public Works Projects resulting from President Roosevelt’s New Deal arts program, specifically the FEAPW, or Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. Besides being known in the state for its architectural marvels (as it is styled in the ultra-modern late 1930’s fashion), it is also known as a reserve of 23 beautifully rendered scale dioramas, Native American artifacts, regional and natural history artifacts, local artists’ original worlds, and national history exhibits.

The Shreveport Museum’s archivist and curator, Nita Cole, told BRProud, “We have historical as well as prehistory so a large collection of basketry and beadwork. We have quite a collection of Native American artifacts and archaeological digs from around the state. It’s a lot of material because it’s small materials.”

Cole also detailed that the expansion had been decades in the making, as the museum had been waiting on a capital outlay project to begin once legislator funds were secured. Now that the project is unveiled, the museum was able to announce its long-awaited expansion via a ribbon-cutting ceremony that had Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin in attendance.

The ceremony was a successful unveiling of not just the building, exhibits, and overall expansion, but it was an opportunity for officials to detail just how useful the addition will be to the museum facility in future years. Nita Cole reported that this new archival building will allow for batter public viewings, research projects, and overall better record-keeping; all of which are absolutely vital to the legacy and success of a museum.

Cole was reported as stating, “the books tend to be spread all over the place so I know that they’re there but doing the research for a particular exhibit or tour that we’re doing is going to make it a lot easier and easier for students.”

The new building at this Louisiana State Museum is set to open to the public at the end of October, and Cole invites the citizens of Louisiana to come unveil the hidden treasures of the past, as the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum is open Monday through Friday on Greenwood Road.

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