Construction fencing and signs requiring hard hats greet visitors to the state capitol complex as the construction phase begins in earnest on the Cultural Building that houses the state museum, library and archives.

For museum officials, it’s the end of two years of carefully moving thousands of objections from its collection to storage and the continuation of planning for what the renovated museum will look like when it reopens in 2025.

That’s a longer timeline than was anticipated a year ago, when they hoped they could reopen to the public — and the thousands of school children who visit each year — by the end of 2023.

“It’s a sad thing and we wish it didn’t have to be that long,” Sheila McDonald, museum deputy director, said. “We hate being closed and we hate not being available to the public.”

The building closed in June 2020 when its heating and cooling system failed. 

The list of work to be completed now includes asbestos removal, replacement of all major mechanical systems including heating, air conditioning and ventilation, new windows and insulation to improve energy efficiency. 

The estimated cost is $20 million and museum officials say they are raising money to pay for new exhibits.

When the museum reopens, visitors will see a revamped collection, including a new exhibit featuring two humpback whale skeletons — an adult and a calf, Bernard Fishman, museum director, said. Another new exhibit will showcase 70 Maine quilts.

“We’re getting the equivalent of half of a new museum,” Fishman said. ”It’s going to be filled with new things they haven’t seen before and presented in a new way. There will be a lot that’s new.”

Museum officials are working to capture the lives of Maine people and will offer information about a wider group of Mainers to better represent all who live here, Fishman said. 

From his perspective, the Maine State Museum, which opened in its current location in 1971, is one of the few institutions in the state that “define life in Maine.”

“We are one of those institutions that has a permanent place, I hope, in the hearts of Maine people and that that love affair will be sustained and rekindled when they see what we have to offer,” he said. “And how we’ve changed with the times and been able to improve.”

Until they reopen, museum officials are available to conduct programs in the field upon request. The library is open for patrons at 242 State St. and the state archives are at 17 Elkins Lane, both in Augusta.

This story was updated on Aug. 17 to remove an erroneous reference to the number of items that are being moved out of storage.