The U.S. Department of the Interior Museum

The U.S. Department of the Interior Museum was created by Interior Secretary Harold Ickes. Today the museum is at a crossroads and has the opportunity to reinvent itself as an institution. A building-wide modernization project will allow the museum to recreate itself physically and conceptually. Lord Cultural Resources was selected to develop a plan for the future museum in consultation with staff and stakeholders. Using a three-phase approach, the museum considered its future and set a clear path for development. The phases are summarized as follows:

• Phase I: Analysis –360° review of the DOI Museum’s operations and made recommendations to guide future activities and development.
• Phase II: Concept Refinement - Based on the Phase I research, we developed a framework for the reinvented museum.  We articulated what the activities of the museum would be to fulfill the new mission. 
• Phase III: Facility Strategy – We developed a Facility Strategy that included a space program, technical requirements for the space, an architectural concept, rendering of the new space and an exhibition of this architectural concept.

With the direction and support of Robert Stanton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget who oversees the Museum’s activities and the hard work of the Interior Museum staff this project will be realized in a re-opening of the Interior Museum.