Ball State students from the College of Architecture and Planning have carried out their charge from the Indiana Statehouse Museum Committee to propose designs for a museum, visitor's center and gift shop at the Statehouse.

All of the students' designs will be unveiled at 2 p.m. Nov. 21 in the Statehouse Rotunda. The exhibit will be on display for the next four months.

"The Statehouse has long served as a classroom for students learning about our state's government and history," said Sonne Palmer, architecture professor and project coordinator. "It is also one of the state's greatest architectural treasures, and it is an honor for Ball State to be asked to participate in this high-profile project."

For the last few months, Palmer and his students have studied the historic building and met with its many constituents.

"The students and I studied the building from its attic to the old carriage entrance in the basement," Palmer said. "Our design proposals range from a small expansion that opens space beneath the rotunda to a recommendation that moves the Supreme and Appellate Courts into a new judiciary center across the street.

"This expanded proposal provides an opportunity to incorporate classrooms, coffee shops, network spaces, and exhibits and assembly areas in the Statehouse," he said. "Essentially, the Statehouse itself becomes a fantastic museum."

The need for a visitor center is apparent to anyone who has been to the Statehouse, he said. When large tours come through — which is frequent during the school year — there is no place for them to assemble before they begin their visit.

"A new proposed visitor's pavilion houses an assembly area under a replica of the Statehouse dome," Palmer said. This is a new portal to the people's house and is an interesting option because it's one that is educational for our students as well as future school children who will be touring the building.

"This design would reveal the Statehouse's connections to Indiana, from its southern limestone to its northern steel."

Along with participating in the practical design exercise, the students are connecting with professionals in their field such as Bonnie Coghlan, associate state architect, with the Indiana Department of Administration. Coghlan, a Ball State alumnus, has been one of the many state officials who have worked with the students throughout the project.