Dr. Robert Archibald Named President of the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial ST. LOUIS, August 4, 2002 - At their quarterly meeting, held on July 26, 2002, in Louisville, KY, the 22-member National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial elected Missouri Historical Society President Dr. Robert Archibald council president. The national council, created in 1993 by the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, is coordinating bicentennial festivals, tours, projects and museum exhibitions, including the Missouri Historical Society's upcoming major exhibition, Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition. With the election of Archibald as president, the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial will move its headquarters from Portland, Oregon, to St. Louis. The move is fitting since Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out from St. Louis in 1804 on their transcontinental journey of exploration. Lewis and Clark led the U.S. Army "Corps of Discovery" from St. Louis up the Missouri River into the vast, newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Their aim was to become the first Americans to traverse the continent to the Pacific. Along the way, they were to map the landscape; collect plant, mineral, and animal specimens; and, most significantly, develop relationships with the many tribes of American Indians. Dr. Robert Archibald As president of the Missouri Historical Society, Archibald is responsible for the operation and direction of the institution, which has a total budget in excess of ten million dollars and a staff of 150. Under his leadership, Archibald has transformed the formerly traditional historical organization into a national model recognized for regularly facilitating community discussions of significant issues. In October 1994, at a White House reception, the museum received the National Award for Museum Service. In bestowing the honor, Diane Frankel, director of the Institute of Museum Services called the Missouri Historical Society "a model for creating programs that use history as context for today's concerns. Their exhibits engage the public in exploring the ethnic and racial history of the metropolitan area, the relationship between people and their physical environment, religion, educational, business and neighborhood institutions and the civic culture of St. Louis." Archibald works with local, regional and national organizations to implement changes that will make communities a better place. He is chairing the national Museums and Community initiative for the American Association of Museums (AMA). He is on the board of the Public Policy Research Center and the Great Rivers Research Center. He served on the executive committee of the Forest Park Master Plan and has been a leader in local transit planning issues. He is a committee chair for St. Louis 2004 and has served two terms as president of Citizens for Modern Transit. On February 11, 2002, Missouri Governor Bob Holden appointed Archibald as co-chairman of the Missouri Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission. Created by executive order in 1998, the Missouri Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commission's mission is to "rekindle the spirit of discovery, achievement, and wonder fostered by the original expedition." Fourteen appointed commissioners are working to coordinate efforts by Missouri state agencies and private organizations to create a historically informative and exciting observation of the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark expedition. Activities will take place during the commemoration years 2004 to 2006. The Missouri Historical Society The Missouri Historical Society has been active in the St. Louis community since 1866. Founding members organized the historical society "for the purpose of saving from oblivion the early history of the city and state." Today, the Missouri Historical Society operates a major urban history center, including the Missouri History Museum and the Library and Research Center. Both facilities are free and open to the public. In February of 2000, the institution held the grand opening of the expanded and renovated Missouri History Museum. The facility includes the new 92,000 square foot Emerson Center and the renovated 37,000 square foot Jefferson Memorial Building. Working with the Board of Trustees, Archibald was responsible for raising the funds needed for the $30 million project. The Emerson Center is home to Seeking St. Louis-three state-of-the-art, interactive galleries examining the people, events and issues that have shaped this community in the past and which continue to impact the region's future. The Emerson Center also includes educational classrooms, an auditorium, museum shop, award-winning Meriwether's restaurant, and a special exhibition gallery which will be the site of Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition. The Missouri Historical Society, supported by private contributions and memberships, foundation and grant support, earned revenue and by property tax support, has extensive artifact, photograph and print collections documenting the history of the region. The Missouri Historical Society Press publishes 3 to 4 books per year on topics of regional historical interest. In 2004, the Missouri Historical Society Press will collaborate with the Smithsonian Institution Press on the Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition catalog. Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition In 2004, the Missouri Historical Society will mark the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark's transcontinental journey of exploration with the opening of Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition. The exceptional new exhibition, organized by the Missouri Historical Society, will open at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri in January 14, 2004 and will be on view through September 6, 2004. The exhibition will then launch a national tour. Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition will feature hundreds of superb artifacts, including rare and priceless objects and documents that have not been seen in one place since the Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis in 1806. More than 600 artifacts will illustrate cultural encounters along the journey of Lewis and Clark. Period objects and art will represent the equipment the explorers utilized, the land they trekked, and the Native American tribes they encountered. The core of the exhibition will be formed by artifacts, artwork, and documents entrusted to the Missouri Historical Society by the Clark and Lewis families. Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition visitors will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to view national treasures such as the letter of credit from Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis (dated 4 July 1803). Other artifacts on display will include plant specimens, the only surviving American Indian artifacts presented to Lewis and Clark, the only known surviving zoological specimen, a woodpecker, and the captains' personal items, such as scientific equipment and Clark's handwritten, illustrated, elkskin-bound field journal, which provides a glimpse into a lost America few of us can imagine. After its St. Louis run, Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition will travel to Philadelphia, Denver, Portland and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.mohistory.org or call 314/746-4599.