Van Buren Township

Belleville Area Museum Master Plan Presentation


On Thursday, March 16, the Van Buren Township Community Services Department, partnering with the City of Belleville, Sumpter Township, and Good Design Group, held a Belleville Area Museum Master Plan Presentation at the Belleville Area Library.

Community Services Director Elizabeth Renaud welcomed attendees and introduced representatives from Good Design Group, who took the information gathered from residents in the Museum Visioning Online Survey that started circulating in Spring 2022 and used the results to create a Community Engagement and Interpretive Planning presentation for the Museum.

In the presentation, Good Design Group included designs for the Museum layout and exhibit suggestions based on community responses. Also included were programming suggestions, such as regular tours for school groups and local history enthusiasts, operation suggestions like clear and consistent museum hours, and more.

Following the presentation, community members spoke one by one, expressing cherished memories from the Belleville Area Museum in years past, as well as interests in exhibits regarding topics such as Willow Run, local Native American history, and the Rosies of WWII.

The meeting concluded with a call to action to community members to help make the Belleville Area Museum the best possible experience for visitors. Community members can do this by contributing to collections at the museum, and by providing suggestions for exhibits. If you are interested in doing either, please email us at bam@vanburen-mi.org.