BRC Imagination Arts, a full-service strategy, design, and production company, has reimagined the exhibitions and guest experience at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum (HHPLM) in West Branch, Iowa, which reopens today after the most extensive renovation in its history.
The $20.3 million project, supported by the Hoover Presidential Foundation's Timeless Values | Modern Experience campaign, expands the facility by 2,300 square feet.
It features a new lobby, an enlarged gift shop, and adaptable exhibit space, bringing the museum up to current standards for accessibility, display, and interpretation.
The Life on the Jump exhibit at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum details the travels of the President and First LadyImage ©Jonathan David Sabin/Infinity Photographic
Instead of a single chronological narrative, the museum now explores the lives of President Hoover and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover in parallel, from childhood through marriage and years of humanitarian efforts and public service.
HHPLM is the first presidential museum to recognise a First Lady as an equal subject alongside her husband, rather than just a supporting figure.
Storytelling over documentation
The new displays highlight a presidency often associated with the Great Depression: a humanitarian legacy that provided food for nearly 100 million people and achievements that occurred before and after Hoover's presidency.
The exhibit also showcases a partnership between two individuals whose journeys, reconstructed from the museum's notes and ship manifests, amounted to roughly fourteen times around the world in fifteen years.
Food Will Win the War exhibit at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, exploring his humanitariun legacyImage © Matthew Solari/BRC Imagination Arts
Covering just under 9,500 square feet, it is the smallest presidential museum within the federal system.
The entrance features busts of Bert and Lou, carefully crafted from historical photographs by Hollywood effects artist Rod Maxwell. These are designed to be touched, inviting visually impaired guests and the curious to explore them with their hands.
A layered soundscape, built gallery by gallery, guides visitors from sounds of cicadas and blacksmith tools in West Branch to wartime noises.
In one room, windows are aligned to offer a view of Hoover's childhood home, allowing visitors to take photos as if at the inauguration, while looking at his birthplace.
The exhibit emphasises storytelling over mere documentation, creating an immersive experience that lets visitors feel as if they are spending time with the Hoovers, rather than just observing a record of their lives.
A small museum with a big story
"This is the smallest presidential museum in the country, and we believe it now tells one of the biggest stories," says Mundi McCarty, president and CEO of the Hoover Presidential Foundation.
"What our preview visitors keep telling us is that they didn't simply learn about Bert and Lou, they felt like they had spent time with them. That was the ambition from the start.
"The Hoovers devoted their lives to serving other people, most of it without any expectation of recognition, and if visitors leave here thinking about how they might do the same in their own communities, then everything our donors made possible will have been worth it."
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum uses immersive exhibits to tell the stroy of a presidency and beyondImage ©Jonathan David Sabin/Infinity Photographic
Matthew Solari, vice president of story and creative at BRC Imagination Arts, adds:
"Herbert Hoover is one of the most misunderstood presidents in American history, and most people walk in certain they already know his story. A hundred years of scholarship says otherwise, and our job was to put that research in front of people in a way they could feel rather than just read.
"There isn't a single touchscreen in this museum. A lot of institutions don't trust their story, or their audience, enough, so they reach for technology to compensate, and more often than not it clouds the very thing they were trying to say.
"Sometimes the most radical choice you can make is to put the technology away and let people spend time with the Hoovers instead."
The theme Lead an Uncommon Life: Serve, Lead, Make a Difference permeates the entire museum and culminates in its final gallery, Uncommon Iowans, where visitors are encouraged to make personal commitments to service. This gallery also features a living awards programme that honours public service by Iowan public servants and students.
Earlier this year, BRC Imagination Arts announced the completion of an ownership transition. Founder Bob Rogers will remain involved while BRC's long-standing leadership team takes formal control of the company.
