Clinton Center Adds Artifacts and Interactives to Current Exhibit
Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, the William J. Clinton Presidential Center is introducing new artifacts and interactives to its current temporary exhibit, "Nature Unleashed: Earthquakes & Hurricanes."
The exhibit investigates the fascinating science behind these powerful natural phenomena and is based upon the exhibition "Nature Unleashed: Inside Natural Disasters," created by The Field Museum in Chicago.
Items being added to the exhibit this weekend include a hurricane simulator and Hurricane Katrina items on loan from the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans.
"We are thrilled to be adding new and exciting items to this timely exhibit," said Stephanie S. Streett, executive director of the William J. Clinton Foundation. "With the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, it's important that we take the time to look back and understand the events leading up to and following the disaster in order to learn how to prepare for and respond to future natural disasters."
The hurricane simulator invites visitors to step into an enclosed booth where they will experience sights, sounds and 78-mile-an-hour winds that accompany a storm. In partnership with the Louisiana State Museum, the Center will showcase some amazing artifacts and oral histories from their upcoming exhibit, Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond. These thought-provoking items include an actual boat used for rescue efforts, three Superdome seats, a garage door with Coast Guard markings, and a helicopter rescue basket, among many others. These items will be on view until the exhibit closes on Sept. 6, 2010.
Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond opens in New Orleans on October 26, 2010, on the ground floor of the historic Presbytere in the French Quarter's Jackson Square. The exhibit tells the stories of real people caught in the hurricane's wrath. It tells of their rescue, recovery, rebuilding and renewal in a way certain to move both: those who survived the storms of 2005, and those who watched the events unfold on TV. The exhibit will also show the science behind hurricanes as well as preparedness and rebuilding in New Orleans.
"The Clinton Center is the perfect venue, and ‘Nature Unleashed: Earthquakes & Hurricanes' is the perfect exhibit to reveal some of the Hurricane Katrina items that we have acquired for our upcoming exhibit," said Sam Rykels, director of the Louisiana State Museum. "These items are historical and poignant, and tell an important story that is still relevant five years later." For more information about Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond, please visit www.katrinaandbeyond.com.
Also at the Center this weekend, the third annual Independence Day Family Festival begins at 9 a.m. and wraps up at 5 p.m. The Festival will feature live music, children's activities and much more. Admission to the Center is free all day long.
The first 100 visitors to the Center on Saturday will take home a free world-famous Hope watermelon, courtesy of the Hope Chamber of Commerce.
On the Fourth of July, the Center will be open with free admission during regular Sunday hours: 1 to 5 p.m.
