The new Stanley Rankin Collections Care Center at the Museum of the Grand Prairie is in operation!

It’s not a gallery, a program, or an exhibit, but it is essential to our operations. It’s a newer, safer home for our large artifacts.

What’s a large artifact? Things like a plow, a seed drill, a sofa, a saddle, sled runners, and ice saws.

While many of our smaller artifacts fit on standard shelving, we have several hundred pieces in the collection, mostly from Champaign County’s agricultural heritage, that require special care and large, open spaces.

In 2014, the Museum of the Grand Prairie was awarded a capital grant from the state of Illinois to rebuild a previously repurposed barn to house those precious big things.

The grant was deferred for five years, but finally, the money came through in 2019. By that time, more funds were needed, as construction costs had doubled, but the museum had recently received a generous donation from Stanley Rankin’s estate.