YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP) – The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is getting ready to reopen following a $15 million makeover aimed at bringing the country’s 37th president closer to younger generations.
The Southern California museum has replaced lengthy written narratives with large photographs, interactive touchscreens and video footage of Nixon’s speeches.
Library director Michael Ellzey hopes adding much-needed technology to exhibits will help the museum draw young people less familiar with Nixon’s trip to China or the Watergate scandal that led to his resignation.
The Watergate exhibit was redone after the National Archives assumed control of the library in 2007. However, other exhibits hadn’t been upgraded since 1990.
The renovated museum opens Friday in Yorba Linda, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles.