This is just one of the displays found at the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives at 100 W. Pryor St. in Athens. Museum officials are anxious to begin work on an ambitious $2 million expansion project that would provide more space for exhibits.

Work to move the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives to a more modern facility could soon take a leap forward, officials announced this week.

At Wednesday’s work session of the Limestone County Commission, District 1 Commissioner Stanley Hill said his crew would soon begin tearing down the covered dock behind the museum as part of an expansion. Once the dock is down and the lot is cleared, the museum will have a clean slate to build a new and improved facility.

Museum Director Sandy Thompson has been in her position for eight years and has spent much of that time helping to raise funds as part of a long-discussed expansion. The museum has more than $200,000 in the bank, but she believes more donations will come in if the community sees movement on the project.

“We’ve been talking about it for so long and some people ask, ‘Is it ever going to happen?” Thompson said. “I believe there will be more interest in it if people see some progress is being made. It’s like the old saying, ‘If you build it, they will come.’”

The current museum at 100 W. Pryor St. is in a county-owned building that once served as a freight depot. It was built in 1912 and shows its age in places.

Occasional water leaks have required at least two county-funded roof repairs over the last two years. The most recent leak event, in January 2016, put several displays in jeopardy of water damage.

So what’s to become of the old museum? It will be used for coffee calls and as the museum’s library. Offices will be used for staging and storage.

Ambitious plans

The museum’s expansion project is less an expansion than construction of a new facility. Thompson estimated the total cost to be about $2 million, which includes the building and fixtures.

It would be a single-story building with 7,900 square feet of space for displays and artifacts. The exterior would be brick and resemble the facade of the current museum and adjacent Limestone County Event Center.

The new building would have offices, a break room and gift shop. It would also include two classrooms focusing on education for all ages. Thompson and Mike Criscillis who chairs the museum’s foundation board, are particularly excited by the prospect of offering STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) courses and programs.

Criscillis, a retired Army Reserves sergeant major and retired GS 14 civil servant, said many people may not realize the connection between STEM and the armed services and how closely to two go hand in hand.

“It’s a recruiting tool for the military because just about every career field can be adapted back to the civilian world,” he said. “Whether it’s agriculture, fuel sampling, oil sampling, medical or flying drones, there are skills that can enhance the community.”

Thompson said the classrooms may also be used for more practical tools like teaching youngsters how to read a map or compass. The museum also received a collection of models of tanks and other military equipment and she believes those could be used to teach students how those vehicles are used.

Thompson and Criscillis both said they’d like to bring in some simulators so school-age children can experience what it’s like to fly a jet or drive a tank.

How you can help

Thompson said even with the funds in the bank, the mission is nowhere near completion. She said donations of money and in-kind labor are what’s needed most now.

Funds acquired for the expansion have primarily come through a number of community fundraisers.

Though about 10,000 visitors come to the museum each year, it doesn’t charge admission and Thompson would like it to remain that way. The museum has a tip jar near the front door for generous visitors.

“I truly believe we make just as much on donations than if we charged $3 to get in,” she said. “Most people, if they’ve got it to give, they give well beyond that $3.”

For information on how you can help, contact the museum at 256-771-7578 or visit http://alabamaveteransmuseum.weebly.com.