Retrospective in photos: A look at the Montana Historical Society over the recent past
Next week, after decades of the Legislature putting pots of money toward the project, several studies, multiple private fundraising rounds, a handful of setbacks and ballooning costs as time went on, the new Montana Heritage Center will open to the public at the Capitol Complex in Helena.
Here's a look at the Montana Historical Society during that time.
Fourth-grade students from Hedges School in Kalispell tour ‘Neither Empty Nor Unknown,’ a Native American exhibit at the Montana Historical Society in May 2010.
Lynne Harcharik peers into a drawer of Native American artifacts stored in the basement of the Montana Historical Society during a Dec. 2010 member tour.Â
Leo Bird, storyteller and Browning High School chemistry teacher, explains Native American culture to students from Capital High School at the Montana Historical Society in Feb. 2011.
From left, assistant registrars Rowena Harrington and Kendra Derrer replace and catalog items from the ‘Second Saturday’ exhibit at the Montana Historical Society in April 2011.
Brian Shovers talks about a fishing map, which is on display in the Historical Society's new exhibit in Dec. 2011, "Mapping Montana: Two centuries of Cartography."
Joe LaFountaine along with his daughter Kelly LaFountaine, left, speak about the changing roles of Native American men and women through time to Capital High School American government students in Feb. 2012 at the Montana Historical Society.
Helena artist Bob Morgan, shown at the Montana Historical Society in an Aug. 1, 2012, photo. Morgan was deeply involved in MHS activities for more than 50 years.
Caitlan Patterson, an electronic records archivist, helps move the Montana Historical Society archives collection in Nov. 2013.Â
Vic Reiman, museum technician at the Montana Historical Society, pulls a barrier cord that covers the perimeter of the Mackay Gallery in this file photo from March 2014.Â
Helena High School student Alex Coover sits in the Mackay Gallery of Charles M. Russell Art at the Montana Historical Society in May 2014.
Andrew Smith, with Smith Art Conservation in Long Beach, California, buffs the large sculpture of a professional rodeo rider made by Bob Scriver for the Montana Historical Society in Aug. 2014.
Warren 'Zee' Zimmerman prepares a nearly life-size image of a Chinese laundromat to be hung on the wall of the Montana Historical Society's newest exhibit, 'Montana's Chinese: Our Forgotten Pioneers' which opened in May 2015.
Amanda Trum, curator of collections, handles the approximately 115-year-old Sioux pipe pouch that was recently recovered after being stolen from the Montana Historical Society in 2003.Â
Maggie Ordon, curator of history at the Montana Historical Society, tests out a sensory penin July 2016 at the museum’s new exhibit Big Game, Big Stories: Montana’s Hunting Heritage. Throughout the exhibit, attendees can use the sensory pen to hear oral histories associated with the artifacts.
Adam Lindquist, playing the role of President Theodore Roosevelt, discusses the role of conservation in western states in Aug. 2016 during an award ceremony for the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project at the Montana Historical Society.
James Bruggeman, left, and Danice Toyias take part in a treasure hunt in Oct. 2016 at the Montana Historical Society as a welcoming event for the annual MEA-MFT Educators’ Conference.Â
Ellen Baumler, historian at the Montana Historical Society, provides a history of Central School in Jan. 2017 during one of two public presentations by the Montana Preservation Alliance regarding the school.
Jennifer Bottomly-O'Looney, senior museum curator, looks at a work by C.M. Russell in March 2017.
A few hundred people gather outside the Montana Historical Society Aug. 2017 to view the solar eclipse.
Originally published on helenair.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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The Montana Historical Society will host a five-day community event celebrating the grand opening of the Montana Heritage Center beginning on June 24.
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