Legends of the Light
After months of planning, we are less than a week away from beginning the installation of Legends of the Light a new exhibit here at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. The landings of the staircase will display historic photographs and stories of the people who lived and worked at the Lighthouse. The Maritime Archaeology & Education Center (MAEC) will present more keepers’ stories and play host to a large selection of ship models from our collection. For more information on what you will see in this exciting new exhibit, read about it here.
Members of the Collections Division carefully relocate a display of broken Fresnel lens prisms during exhibit preparation.
Our staff members have been busy preparing for the installation for the past few weeks. Every collections item that goes into the exhibit needs careful cleaning and assessment to ensure it is in good condition. Staff has also worked hard to paint exhibit cases to get them ready for display. Old exhibit signs in the Lighthouse are being removed to make room for the new exhibit panels. Workers are quickly readying the MAEC for occupation. The exhibit fabricators are completing off-site assembly of exhibit components to ensure a smooth and quick installation process.Starting on June 19, collections and interpretation staff at the Lighthouse will work with our exhibit designers Architecture is Fun! and exhibit fabricators Morley Exhibits, Displays & Experiences to install the Legends of Light exhibit. This includes applying and adhering displays to walls, securing hardware and cases to walls and moving in prefabricated exhibit components.
The displays in the Lighthouse will be available to visitors as soon as they are completed. They will include a stair count, so you can keep track of how far you’ve climbed…and how far you have left to go! The section of the exhibit in the MAEC will be available once that building is completed and opened in fall 2017.
Museum Week
In a serendipitous bit of happenstance, June 19 is also the beginning of Museum Week! This week-long celebration of museums occurs annually on your favorite social media platforms. There are daily themed hashtags to follow so you can learn amazing things from the best museums and cultural institutions from around the world. You can learn more about Museum Week by checking out their website and twitter account. The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum will be sharing throughout the week, including some posts about the new Legends of the Light exhibit.
Stay tuned for some great Museum Week posts from us next week as we keep you up-to-date on everything we do here, including our new exhibit Legends of the Light!
The new exhibit will be included in the admission price so make sure you plan your visit soon!
Paul Zielinski is Director of Interpretation for the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. He received his master’s degree in Public History from the University of West Florida and joined the Lighthouse family in 2011.