SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Sierra Vista's Henry Hauser Museum is getting upgrades in the near future, thanks to a large donation from the Sierra Vista Historical Society.
“It’s long over due," President of the Sierra Vista Historical Society Marta Messer said. "It’ll be a whole new museum."
The historical society donated $100,000 to for the museum to purchase new displays, lighting, flooring and a new digital kiosk. This kiosk will let visitors view photos in a digital space, allowing for more exhibits in the museum.
Museum Curator Elizabeth Wrozek has a lot of ideas for the renovations. She told KGUN 9 she would like to make the first McDonald's drive-thru window much more noticeable and interactive.
Their hope with the kiosk is that exhibits become easier to swap out and will hold more information, increasing the number of exhibits in the museum.
The historical society has collected funds since 2012 in preparation for a possible new museum. Messer explained since there are not current plans for a new museum but upgrades that need to be made, they agreed to use some of the funds for the renovations.
“I’m so grateful to the Sierra Vista Historical Society, to their membership, to the initial donors who started the fund that this money is coming from," Wrozek said. "It’s a huge step into the future for us and it's a great way for us to really support and engage our community.”
The goal for upgrading the museum is to preserve the area's history as well as connect the community with their past. Messer and Wrozek hope that through modernizing the museum, it will attract a younger audience to the space and historical society.
"There’s just so much history in Sierra Vista that people don’t know about at all,” Messer said.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
