U.S.S. Utah Exhibit to open at the Utah State Capitol

Today the first special exhibit opened in the Capitol since its restoration. The exhibit is on the U.S.S. Utah and will be inside the Capitol from today until December 7, 2009. It is the first of its type since the re-opening of the Capitol in January of 2008. It also marks the U.S.S. Utah’s 100th anniversary year. The Capitol Preservation Board staff, the Fort Douglas Military Museum, Ancestry.com, and other interested individuals have made the exhibit possible.

Here is a more detailed explanation of the exhibit:

The original design of the Capitol included gallery space for exhibitions mounted by the Utah Art Institute. The law governing the Institute was a bill referred to simply as the Art Bill of 1899. Written and sponsored by Alice Merrill Horne, the bill created a mechanism, the first in the country, for sponsoring arts education in schools. It also made provision for sponsoring artists in Utah by purchasing and exhibiting the visual arts. The galleries on the Fourth Floor were designed, together with a Board Room, for the Art Institute. As part of the renovation of the Capitol, the Fourth Floor Galleries will feature rotating exhibits, some curated by the Capitol
Preservation Board Office staff, some by visiting and collaborating museums and individuals. All exhibits will feature educator materials for pre- and post-visit (as well as classroom) activities for 4th and 7th graders whose curricula includes Utah History and Civics. This exhibit opens that program.