Buffalo Grove’s Raupp Museum gets $149,250 grant

The Raupp Museum, operated by the Buffalo Grove Park District, will get a state grant to rehabilitate and add to one of its most popular exhibits.

The Buffalo Grove Park District will receive a grant for $149,250 toward the Raupp Museum’s Buffalo Grove Crossroads Exhibit, formerly the Town Square Exhibit.

As part of the revamped Buffalo Grove Crossroads Exhibit, three components will be created, including the Prairie View train station, the Weidner general store, and the Geimer greenhouse.

“Everyone is so excited to get this grant to renovate the Town Square Exhibit,” said Raupp Museum Curator Debbie Fandrei. “While the exhibit is a favorite with all of the guests, it has remained almost unchanged since it was built over 30 years ago.

“The new exhibit will continue to have the store environments that our visitors love; but, they will now be larger, more interactive, and contain even more historical detail. They will also be completely ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible for the first time ever, which will allow all residents of Buffalo Grove to enjoy full access to history,” she said.

Park district officials don’t yet know when construction will begin; however, they anticipate the project will be completed in the summer of 2014.

“Since the gallery is also used as the museum’s main educational programming area, this new grant will directly benefit the more than 5,000 students and Scouts who take part in Raupp Museum programs every year,” Fandrei said.

The project was one of 50 to be awarded a share of $14.9 million in funding assistance from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Only those museums operated by or located upon land owned by a unit of local government were eligible.