GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Soon, you'll be able to peruse the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) archives as part of a massive expansion project.

The groundbreaking for the expansion happened Monday at the museum’s Community Archives and Research Center (CARC) on Washington Street SE.

The CARC holds about 95% of the museum's collections. The temperature-controlled, secured space helps preserve the artifacts.

An additional 5,000 square feet of new community space will be added to the center. There will also be classrooms, labs, meeting spaces and more, which will allow students to study the artifacts.

Dale Robertson, president and CEO of the GRPM, said there are about 250,000 artifacts and specimens in the museum's archives—but it's how they got there that makes them so unique.

"98% of these

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