(WHAS11) - The Kentucky Derby Museum will be re-opened by Derby Day next year. Derby Museum officials made the announcement Monday, nearly three months after it closed for repairs after massive flooding in August. The Museum will officially be back in business April 18, 2010 – the Sunday after Thunder Over Louisville, Derby’s official “kick-off,” and just in time for the Kentucky Derby.
Executive Director of the Derby Museum, Lynn Ashton, said the museum will not only be back in business, but it will be better than ever.
“We are going to do what’s normally done in 18 months, in six months,” said Ashton. She said the museum is planning a $5.5 million dollar renovation that will include more exhibits with more interactivity.
"We've actually been thinking about this renovation for awhile, to happen in the next two years,” she said. “So we already had a lot of the beginning stages through when the flood hit."
When the flood hit August 4th, every exhibit in the museum was damaged in some way. Some were totaled. Insurance estimates from the disaster are around $4 million.
The new museum will include an exhibit called, “It’s my Derby,” a place where you can watch the stories from other people as they talk about their Derby memories. You can also contribute your own Derby memories throughout the year through various events organized by local television stations, including WHAS 11.
The project will also include repairs to the building to prevent future flood damage. One possible temporary exhibit will detail the historic flooding.
“It's an ambitious task to get this done for the Kentucky Derby,” said John Asher, VP of Communications for Churchill Downs. “The days are clicking away to the Kentucky Derby! To finish this for the Kentucky Derby and celebrate the 25th anniversary is a big task. But having seen what this staff has accomplished in 2 months, I have no doubt they will accomplish that and more in the next six."
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