GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum will reopen soon after months of renovations.
The updates include a simulation of a 1944 typhoon that threatened the aircraft carrier on which Ford served during World War II and the chance to stand behind the 38th president’s desk in a replica of the Oval Office.
The museum in Grand Rapids reopens June 7 after being closed since last fall for renovations, a project that included construction of the 8,000-square-foot DeVos Learning Center, which is designed to foster civic engagement among students.
New lighting and special effects will create the sensation of being on the deck of the USS Monterey as it got pounded by huge waves and caught fire from planes crashing into each other, The Grand Rapids Press reported.
“We had to tone it down a little bit because we didn’t want people to get too dizzy,” said Joe Cavalruso, executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.