It’s finally here: the National Museum of the Marine Corps will be reopening on April 1, after being closed for three months.
According to a release from the museum, the museum was set for closure from January 4 to March 31 as part of the final phase of a construction project to add more than 115,000 square feet to the facility.
As part of the project two new aircraft were added to the museum’s Leatherneck Gallery: a restored World War II SBD Dauntless dive bomber – which will be hung from the ceiling in the central gallery – and a Vietnam-era Sikorsky UH-34D helicopter, according to a release.
“The addition of the aircraft is part of the Museum’s ongoing efforts to more completely interpret the history of the Marine Corps and share more of the collection,” stated Museum Director Lin Ezell in a release.
In addition to the additional aircraft, the project has made room for a giant-screen theater, expanded educational space for the Children’s Gallery, space for a Sports Gallery, Art Gallery, a Hall of Valor, and two additional historic galleries, according to a release. As stated in a release, construction on the entire facility should be completed by 2017, and all of the new exhibitions should be completed by 2020.
