While the structure itself is complete, we still have furniture to move in, and preparations inside to finish before we can invite visitors into the building - no more than 6 at any one time, everyone masked and practicing social distancing, of course. Rangers have begun arriving and are working to prepare interior spaces for administrative purposes, and putting things in place to greet visitors, offer them park maps, trail recommendations, and information about the park. We don’t yet have a tentative date for opening interior spaces to the public, but we are shooting for Memorial Day weekend as a target date. Stay tuned for a date certain.
When visitors arrive, they will notice that we will not have exhibits. Exhibits will not be installed for some time. (Spring 2022). This is because fabrication of those exhibits takes time and is one of the most complex tasks of the entire project. Why? Because exhibits are intended to tell a story, and the story of our park is large and complex, dating to some 9,000 years ago. That’s right, while the Pig War, and events on the island in the 19th century, are perhaps the better-known aspects of the park for some, this place was home to Native Americans for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. Our job in telling the park’s story through exhibits required blending stories of the park’s first inhabitants with those of early island settlers, with exhibits and information about our flora an fauna, geology, and many other elements that are important in telling the park’s story. Telling that story with exhibits required consultation with many groups including Coast Salish tribes, resource managers, scientists, interpreters, design and exhibit specialists, design engineers, and others. That collaboration took time in order to tell the right stories in the right ways, and in ways that are meaningful to the public, historically, and culturally accurate, informative, and finally appealing to the eye and overall aesthetic of the structure. Getting all those pieces right was one of our most important tasks, and we think you will be pleased with the final product.
It’s important to note that all crew members are employing all those health and safety measure that we are all practicing, including social distancing. Work crew members are being monitored regularly, and sanitation facilities are available for the crew. While the project is certainly important, the health and safety of employees and workers is much more important.
(A) New benches around the complex have all been installed and are awaiting visitors.
(B) Security screen in front of utility panel is now installed.
(C) Book store cabinetry installation complete.
(D) Last, but not least, the new park entrance sign.