News--- GNMP Opens New Visitor Center April 14th

New Museum and Visitor Center At Gettysburg National Military Park Will Open April 14, Katie Lawhon, GNMP Public Relations, February 19, 2008

The Gettysburg Foundation announced today that the new Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park will open to visitors at 8 a.m. on Monday, April 14, 2008. "We want this new Gettysburg experience to inspire visitors about the past, to encourage them to want to learn more about the events that have shaped our country and, in the process, to become better citizens," said Robert C. Wilburn, president of the Gettysburg Foundation. "The new Museum and Visitor Center is designed to meet visitors' expectations of a 21st-century museum. At the same time, we want to tell the story of the Battle of Gettysburg, within the context of the causes and consequences of the Civil War, in a way that showcases the Battlefield. And we want to encourage people to extend their stays and return more often."

The new museum will better prepare visitors to walk the sacred ground of
the Gettysburg battlefield and see it through the soldiers' eyes," said John Latschar, superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park. To date, the Foundation has secured more than $105 million toward its $125 million Campaign to Preserve Gettysburg. Funds from the campaign are being used to build, furnish and operate the new Museum and Visitor Center, to preserve the park's extensive collection of Civil War artifacts and archives, including the massive Cyclorama painting, to support battlefield rehabilitation and preservation programs, including the return of Ziegler's Grove to its 1863 appearance, to improve the visitor experience at Gettysburg, and to create an endowment to support future preservation and maintenance needs.

Park curatorial staff has begun moving objects and artifacts into the collection storage area on the lower level. Staff from the Foundation is moving into the administrative offices at the new Museum and Visitor Center this week. National Park Service staff will make the move into the new facilities from their offices in the Visitor Center on Taneytown Road just prior to the mid-April opening.

Contacts:
Gettysburg Foundation: Dru Anne Neil, 717-253-5786
Gettysburg National Military Park: Katie Lawhon, 717-334-1124, ext. 452