It was Beautiful Day to Honor the New Entrance to the Museum’s 13-Acre Campus
NAPERVILLE– On Sunday, May 19, Naper Settlement held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its Birck Family Innovation Gateway, the new entrance to the museum’s 13-acre campus. Among those in attendance at the event were donors, community members, and public officials, including U.S. Congressman Bill Foster, State Representative Janet Yang Rohr, State Senator Laura Ellman’s District Director Leslie Ruffing, and Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli. The celebration included a short presentation and reception, as well as the premiere of Naper Settlement’s immersive new welcome video, “Naperville: Looking Back is Looking Forward.”
The new 4,800 square foot welcome center will serve a critical role in welcoming visitors to the museum. The building provides an improved site entrance that is accessible for people of all abilities, and it also includes a rental space that is available for wedding receptions, meetings, lectures, workshops, and more.
With the building now open, Naper Settlement staff are currently working on developing the digital experience that will be located in the Birck Family Innovation Gateway. The digital experience will encourage visitors to self-curate their own history journey. It will be a repository for files, photos, and more, allowing visitors to upload their own histories.
“We are thrilled about our plans for the Whole History Project that will be integrated into the Stenger Family Digital Experience,” said Rena Tamayo-Calabrese, President and CEO at Naper Settlement. “Our team will preserve and digitize our vast archives, artifacts, and records, showcasing the rich diversity and history of Naperville and the State of Illinois. The project will make these cultural treasures accessible to a wider audience so that audiences from around the state, country, and world can view and learn from our collections.”
For more information about the Birck Family Innovation Gateway, visit NaperSettlement.org/InnovationGateway.
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