Museum

“Our exhibit philosophy is simple; educate and entertain.”

As the Great Lakes Historical Society plans to open its new National Museum at 1701 Front Street, Toledo, Ohio, this page will serve as a portal to our exhibit process from conceptual design to final fabrication and installation. We will be updating this page between now and the Grand Opening in 2013.

The new museum is moving forward with help from you, our members and donors, as well as the City of Toledo, the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission, and many other organizations located around the Great Lakes. While we are focused on the new museum at the Toledo Maritime Center, we are planning a complete experience; the site at Front Street will also include the museum ship S.S. Col. James M. Schoonmaker, and a park with maritime artifacts and beautiful landscaping.

Exhibit Philosophy

Our exhibit philosophy is simple; educate and entertain. Our displays will educate the visitor about the importance of the Great Lakes to our national story. The experience will be designed to educate a diverse audience both in age and knowledge of the topic. We will accomplish this goal of education in visually, auditory, and tactile compelling ways so that the experience is engrossing and entertaining.

Where We Are Now

Currently, our team of designers, staff members and volunteers has completed the Conceptual Design Phase of the project. The experience took us through our general philosophy to how we wanted the museum visit to flow. The image below will begin to give an idea of the general approach to our exhibits in terms of physical placement in the building as well as the placement of major artifacts.

The entire experience will be grounded in an initial introductory experience that explains the importance of Great Lakes history and sets up the four major themed areas in the museum: Exploration and Settlement, Expansion and Industry, Safeguard and Support, and Shipwrecks and Safety.

In February of 2012 we hope to update this page with specifics concerning each themed exhibit as we work our way through the design development stage.

Museum will be located at:

1701 Front Street, Toledo, Ohio 43605