Living History Farms launches $6.2 million expansion

Catch up fast: LHF is a 500-acre "interactive museum" site in Urbandale that demonstrates centuries of agricultural practices, including those of Native Americans and early settlers.

• Its post-Civil War town has shops, a schoolhouse and a general store that's open during warmer months for visitors to go back in time.

State of play: Half of the project's costs are raised. The group is seeking grants and donations for the rest, spokesperson Elizabeth Keest Sedrel tells Axios.

• The modern indoor space near the museum's entrance will more than double when it's finished.

Zoom in: The Cultivation Center will include meeting rooms, offices and gallery space for things like traveling exhibits.

• The existing visitor center will be converted to a learning center for classrooms and additional meeting space.
• A new picnic pavilion and courtyard will connect the buildings.

The intrigue: LHF has been open for more than 50 years.

• Pope John Paul II held an outdoor mass there in 1979 with around 350,000 people in attendance.

What's next: The "Cultivating Our Future" campaign kickoff is Wednesday, April 3, at the LHF Visitor's Center, 4-5:30pm.

• Construction is not expected to affect museum visits, which begin April 30 this year.