National relics draw Senator Dorgan to Washburn
By Danielle Abbott
The exhibits are continuously changing at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. The projects and relics on display are a piece of history, offering visitors a glimpse into a past generation. Receiving such artifacts, and producing the full displays takes months, sometimes weeks to achieve. But as interpretive center president David Borlaug, and Clay Jenkinson, president of the Dakota Institute recently learned, the best things are worth the wait. After a difficult journey, including several trips to and from Washington D.C in the Library of Congress, the original letters written between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Von Humboldt come to rest at the interpretive center. The national treasures will be on display through December, when they must return to Washington. At that time, the letters will be replaced with replicas, as the complete exhibit stays up through all of 2009. Walking into the new display, you may be amazed by the large timelines, maps and panels lining the hallways and the Bergquist Gallery. Centered in the room, with a large glass case and museum quality lighting, the original letters sit at the center of attention. The exhibit looks complete, but Borlaug and Jenkinson, who wrote and designed the exhibit, insure visitors that it is not nearly finished. "There are far more panels that will be going up in the next couple weeks," Borlaug said, "Every time that people come back, they will see something new." As a way of introducing the new exhibit to the community, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center offered a special exhibit showing on Wednesday. GRE and Blue Flint Ethanol sponsored the event’s reception and offered wine and hors d’oeuvres as visitors enjoyed the updated exhibit.
