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The City of Greensburg, BNIM Architects, Project Explore, Inc., and Ralph Appelbaum Associates today announced that progress is continuing as planned on the Big Well Museum, one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas. Current and former residents’ knowledge and stories are being sought as the conceptual design phase of the museum is being developed.
Three thematic concepts have already been suggested from initial research and residents’ responses to a survey for the proposed 4,000 square foot museum which includes the well. The concepts are the Big Well, the EF-5 Tornado, and building the Green Model City. More input is being sought for people in the area to go to the Greensburg’s website (http://www.greensburgks.org/) and click on the link that is dominantly displayed on the home page.
“We are especially looking for ‘artifacts’ and stories about the construction and early years of the Big Well and the tornado,” said Steve Hewitt, City Manager of Greensburg. “What will be so intriguing about this museum is what people may now think is commonplace or ordinary can be really amazing to visitors. For instance, a note left on the kitchen table remaining after the kitchen disappeared becomes a memorable story. Or a picture flying out of a frame, leaving the frame unmoved on the one remaining wall of a bedroom is a tale inspiring awe. We need to hear more from the folks who lived through the tornado. If a long-ago relative helped dig the well, or you have some relevant pictures, we want to hear from you,” he stressed.
The interactive museum will also make use of the verbal reminiscences of residents of all ages and experiences, similar to “StoryCorps,” the national program which is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. Two representatives of Project Explore will be returning to the area on January 14 and 15 to record those stories. To make your appointment, call 913.384.1020 or send an email to chris@projectexplore.org to schedule your time.
“Gathering all the information now for the museum’s content is not only necessary, it’s vital,” emphasized Chris Becicka of Project Explore. “These are the anecdotes and items that will bring even more tourism and make Greensburg’s heritage - past, present, and future - come alive to all who enter the Big Well Museum.”
BNIM Architects is a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm founded in 1970 in Kansas City, Mo. Throughout its history, the firm has remained committed to its local and regional communities while establishing a national presence as an innovator of design methodologies, sustainability and new technologies in architecture, planning and workplace design. As pioneers in the sustainable movement, BNIM and its associates have become known as thought leaders in the industry and beyond. Their work helped define the national American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment, the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(r)) Green Building Rating System and the Living Building concept.
The City of Greensburg, BNIM Architects, Project Explore, Inc., and Ralph Appelbaum Associates today announced that progress is continuing as planned on the Big Well Museum, one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas. Current and former residents’ knowledge and stories are being sought as the conceptual design phase of the museum is being developed.
Three thematic concepts have already been suggested from initial research and residents’ responses to a survey for the proposed 4,000 square foot museum which includes the well. The concepts are the Big Well, the EF-5 Tornado, and building the Green Model City. More input is being sought for people in the area to go to the Greensburg’s website (http://www.greensburgks.org/) and click on the link that is dominantly displayed on the home page.
“We are especially looking for ‘artifacts’ and stories about the construction and early years of the Big Well and the tornado,” said Steve Hewitt, City Manager of Greensburg. “What will be so intriguing about this museum is what people may now think is commonplace or ordinary can be really amazing to visitors. For instance, a note left on the kitchen table remaining after the kitchen disappeared becomes a memorable story. Or a picture flying out of a frame, leaving the frame unmoved on the one remaining wall of a bedroom is a tale inspiring awe. We need to hear more from the folks who lived through the tornado. If a long-ago relative helped dig the well, or you have some relevant pictures, we want to hear from you,” he stressed.
The interactive museum will also make use of the verbal reminiscences of residents of all ages and experiences, similar to “StoryCorps,” the national program which is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. Two representatives of Project Explore will be returning to the area on January 14 and 15 to record those stories. To make your appointment, call 913.384.1020 or send an email to chris@projectexplore.org to schedule your time.
“Gathering all the information now for the museum’s content is not only necessary, it’s vital,” emphasized Chris Becicka of Project Explore. “These are the anecdotes and items that will bring even more tourism and make Greensburg’s heritage - past, present, and future - come alive to all who enter the Big Well Museum.”
BNIM Architects is a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm founded in 1970 in Kansas City, Mo. Throughout its history, the firm has remained committed to its local and regional communities while establishing a national presence as an innovator of design methodologies, sustainability and new technologies in architecture, planning and workplace design. As pioneers in the sustainable movement, BNIM and its associates have become known as thought leaders in the industry and beyond. Their work helped define the national American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment, the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(r)) Green Building Rating System and the Living Building concept.
Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) are planners, designers, and producers of award-winning museum exhibitions, visitor centers, and educational environments. Subject areas range from natural history and the physical sciences, to cultural, social, and corporate history, sports, and the fine arts. Founded in 1978, and currently the largest interpretive museum design firm in the world, Ralph Appelbaum Associates has an interdisciplinary staff of more than 135 specialists in different aspects of design and communications: technology and media specialists, architects, writers, editors, and management personnel. The firm has completed over 350 commissions to date including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington D.C., the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, and the Museum of WWI at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. While RAA is best known for large-scale, permanent museum projects that require a marriage of complex educational content with physical environments, the firm also takes on select smaller commissions that have a unique story to tell.
Project Explore, Inc. in Kansas City was established in 2001 as a consulting firm which works closely with public venues to develop experiential learning experiences for students and the general public. Their mission is to expand and enrich educational opportunities by connecting learning to community venues through Signature Experiences(r). Clients have included the National Museum of WWI at Liberty Memorial and Union Station in Kansas City, Powell Gardens, the Kansas City Zoo, Eisenhower Presidential Library, the Winston Churchill Memorial and Museum in Fulton, Missouri, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Alabama and many others.
