Museum opens to public at NIU's Cole Hall

DEKALB — The public is getting its first look at a new museum at Northern Illinois University's Cole Hall.

The building was the site of a deadly 2008 shooting and reopened last month after four years. The building was given a $6 million renovation and has a new high-tech classroom, dozens of computer stations and the museum.

The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle reports that an open house at the Anthropology Museum was held Sunday.

NIU President John Peterson says the building was named for an anthropologist.

University officials say the opening shows that something good can come out of something so tragic.

On Feb. 14, 2008, a former NIU student stepped onto a lecture stage during a geology class in Cole Hall and began shooting. Five students were killed and many injured.