Photo of the ribbon cutting ceremony, featuring Senator Dylan A. Fernandes; members of the Barbey family; Anne Scott-Putney, President & CEO Heritage Museums & Gardens, and Joe Lilly, the son of museum founder JK Lilly, III. Courtesy of Heritage Museums and Gardens
SANDWICH – The Heritage Museum & Gardens in Sandwich this past week celebrated the grand opening of its new Barbey Family Welcome Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by community members, museum supporters, and elected officials.
The welcome center is fully solar powered and designed for net zero emissions with high efficiency heat pumps and best in class passive energy design features, as well as permeable paving and bioswales to capture water runoff, and electric powered transport carts for increased handicapped accessibility.
The center was designed by GWWO Architects of West Hartford, Connecticut and Baltimore, Maryland, specialists in the design of visitor and interpretive centers, and named for the Barbey family, who donated $3.5 million to the capital campaign to fund its construction.
“The opening of the Barbey Family Welcome Center marks a new chapter for our museum,” said Anne Scott-Putney, President & CEO of Heritage Museums & Gardens.
“We are grateful for the generous support from our donors and sponsors who helped bring this vision to life,” she said. “This new space enhances our ability to provide an exceptional experience for all visitors.”
The center is now open to the public.
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