The University of Illinois Springfield opens the Sangamon Experience

The University of Illinois Springfield has held a grand opening for the Sangamon Experience. The experience is a new on-campus exhibition which will tell the history of the Sangamon Region of central Illinois.

Chancellor Susan J. Koch was present at the ceremony as she welcomed about more than 300 people to the exhibit. The exhibit was held on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center. The exhibition is a multifaceted initiative that includes space of about 5,300-square-foot. The exhibition includes multimedia and interactive exhibits, historical maps, and photographs and a small theater.

The exhibition will also include an interpretive text which was developed by teams of UIS students, faculty and community partners. Devin Hunter, UIS assistant professor of history and faculty lead on the project said, “Our opening exhibit has some interactive flat screens featuring different historical images through the years and a wall that covers the years 1800 to 1860 in the Sangamon Region.”

A community advisory board is assisting Hunter on the project. The board provides feedback and suggestions for the creation and sustaining of Sangamon Experience. The project not only has the Sangamon Experience space itself, as it includes the dynamic website as well. The website shares and promotes the local historical activities, online historical research, and customized community partnerships.

FWAI Architects, Inc. of Springfield designed the Sangamon Experience. An anonymous, major gift to the University of Illinois Springfield helped made this possible.