Visitors will pass by a fighter jet and yesteryear tanks to enter the Museum of Missouri Military History after its Dec. 7 grand opening at a new location.
They will walk into the shared lobby with the Patriot Center, the first right after entering the Ike Skelton Training Site, before being greeted at the visitor kiosk with looping photos of the museum's holdings.
The three-story high ceiling of the nearly 7,000-square-feet facility gives the museum's new location an even larger feel. Visitors will have space to navigate the dozens of themed exhibits, including large weaponry, full uniforms and accoutrements, and lots of photos and images.
In the back of the display area is a field tent set up for films, expected to be popular with the dozens of elementary field trips that visit during their day at the Capitol. And in the front, children will enjoy the corner with real uniforms and items they can touch and try on.
Visitors with smart phones will be able to access additional information about each exhibit, using QR codes.
All of these features were not possible at the museum's former location.
In the summer of 2012, the museum learned it would be moving to the larger, more conducive location on the Ike Skelton Training Site.
The logistics required to convert a multiple-bay mechanical school into a climate-controlled home for delicate, one-of-a-kind antiques took longer than originally anticipated.
But in the extended meantime, the museum and its support systems - through the Missouri Society for Military History and the Missouri National Guard Association - were able to acquire some impressive additions to the collection, including the 1967 Cobra attack helicopter, previously stored at the Aurora armory.
There's also a World War II-era Sherman tank, restored from Camp Crowder in Neosho, and a Vietnam-era Sheridan, which had been used as a training aid on the Ike Skelton site.
The F-15 fighter, situated 25 years ago at the front gate to the base, was repainted and installed at the museum's entrance.
The oldest standing building on the Missouri National Guard site - Thomas Hall - was historically-appropriate for the museum, but not realistic.
There, they had about 2,000 square feet of exhibit space. The new location triples that.
The larger space allows for preservation of big pieces, such as the six-pounder Civil War cannon, which sat outside the front entrance of the former museum.
The floor space also allows for the creation of interactive and topically grouped displays.
In addition to the improved accommodations for the museum itself, the new location creates easier access for visitors.
Many of the non-employee visitors to the site are headed to the Patriot Center, where several services to veterans have offices in one location. The Patriot Center is in the other half of the former maintenance building.
A larger parking area will be easier for tours and school groups to arrive by bus.
The last year the museum was open to the public, it saw more than 3,000 visitors.
Instead of a tightly smothered second-story office for artifacts, reference material and files, the new location offers a work space in addition to storage, a separate office for Director Charles Machon and a room for decontaminating new arrivals.
"From nothing in 1989 to this beautiful, new building is a statement in itself," said society president Bob Wiegers, history professor at Central Methodist University.
One of the roles of the museum is to tell the stories of Missouri's military history. The new museum's exhibits allow them to do that in more detail.
Machon said they have made an effort to draw out what daily life would have been like for soldiers and airmen in the various combat theaters. And notable Missouri servicemen will be highlighted, including Harry Truman, Ernest Hemingway and Gen. John Pershing
There's also a display dedicated to chaplains, including a field table and office kit and a portable pump organ.
Last year, a group of Guard officials considered the benefits of relocating the Spanish-American War memorial figure from its U.S. 50 Blue Star Memorial Park location to a prominent place at the entrance of the museum's new site. Unfortunately, the public became confused about the concept, misunderstanding that the Guard site remains inside the city limits and that the contextual location might have given the Carl Mose sculpture higher visibility.
The recently introduced Veterans Trail project will highlight more than 40 local existing memorials, monuments and grave markers in tribute to those who have served. The museum will be an anchor for that trail, encouraging the next generation of soldiers, sailors and airmen.
The museum opening on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day also coincides with the Guard's December drill weekend, when families accompany their soldier.
On the Web: www.moguard.com