The Jacksonville Area Museum is offering exclusive membership for members of the community to get in depth at Jacksonville’s latest upcoming attraction.
Jacksonville Area Museum Board Chairman, David Blanchette, says the purpose of the memberships are twofold: “These memberships get really an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this new addition to the Jacksonville community. They’re also a way to make sure that we as a museum, which is entirely non-for-profit, can remain open. Those with memberships receive advance viewing of the museum before it opens to the general public, which right now will occur we believe in mid-July of 2021. Members also receive advanced viewing of new and traveling exhibits, the first chance at admission ticketed and special events, and also some members-only programs.”
Blanchette says there are different tiers of the memberships offered: “The membership levels include $25 for students, $45 individual sustaining, $60 for silver which is a family membership or for couples, gold is $75, and platinum is $100. We also have a business membership category which includes sustaining of $150, silver $250, gold $300, and platinum $500. Now in both the individual and business categories, the gold and platinum members will receive recognition on the museum’s donor wall.”
Potentially interested parties can go to jacksonvillearemuseum.org and complete an application by clicking on the donate button and then click on the membership form tab.
The Jacksonville Area Museum, funded entirely with donations and grants, will open in mid-2021 in the old Post Office Building in the 300 block of East State Street. Ir will use original artifacts, storytelling exhibits, and the building itself to show people of all ages and backgrounds why the Jacksonville community has been and continues to be unique.
The museum will host the prestigious Smithsonian “Voices and Votes” traveling exhibit in the fall of 2021 and is also the repository for the archival collection from MacMurray College, with various pieces from the school’s 180-year history.