For Immediate Release
The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center Public Opening is May 14
Saturday, May 14, 2016, between 10 AM and 4 PM, the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center will be celebrating its public opening at Darden Towe Park, announcing its first regular public hours since completing its new building. New exhibition items will be on display for the first time, including a 19th Century drawing of Meriwether Lewis’s birthplace in Ivy, and two bronze sculptures, “The Grand Endeavor,” and “Walla Walla Woman.”
A basket by Native American artist Pat Courtney Gold was specially commissioned for the Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center opening. The basket shows traditional animal imagery. Gold is a member of the Wasco tribe and is represented in many museums nationwide. Lewis and Clark met members of the Wasco tribe in what is now Oregon.
From 2 to 3 PM there will be a special tour and dedication ceremony for donors to the Center’s permanent collection and to the Meriwether Lewis Home Front Chapter Library. The DeForest Family will be among those honored at the ceremony. The family of the late John D. “Jack” DeForest has donated his annotated collection of Lewis and Clark books and his bronze sculpture, “The Grand Endeavor,” to the Center’s library. DeForest was a Lewis and Clark scholar and book reviewer. His daughter Denise Pastoor will be present at the opening.
After this weekend, the Center will be open to the public every Friday and Saturday from 10 to 4. Monday through Thursday the Center will still operate by reservation, serving the area’s schools, camp groups, and community organizations. The Center is closed on Sundays.
The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center is located in Darden Towe Park off of Elks Drive on Pantops.
For more information, please contact Executive Director Alexandria Searls at 434-996-7282 or at lewisandclark@lewisandclarkvirginia.org
