Additional galleries planned for NMMC

Change is coming to the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
In the works are three additional galleries with exhibits interpreting the periods from 1775 through World War I, each with new state-of-the-art immersive experiences that are set to open next spring; the Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel, expected to be dedicated during a ceremony set for Oct. 22; and a series of new park trails.
“I think the message you might take away is the fact that this is a living entity, and it’s going to continue to grow over the next decade or two or three,” said retired Gen. Ron Christmas, president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. “We know this will continue to grow and develop.”
Christmas and Foundation Chief Operating Officer retired Brig. Gen. Gerald McKay led a walking tour of the construction site for the chapel and park trails on Monday for a group of Prince William County officials, including Supervisor Maureen Caddigan; County Executive Craig Gerhart; Assistant County Executives Susan Roltsch and Melissa Pecor; Director of Legislative Affairs Dana Fenton; Director of Transportation Tom Blaser and Historic Preservation Division Chief Brendon Hannafin.
In addition to the new galleries, chapel, and trails, part of the growth and development on the museum campus in Triangle might include a hotel and conference center. Christmas announced that Marine Commandant Gen. James T. Conway recently gave the Foundation the green light to explore the possibility of building such a facility on the museum campus. Christmas said the process would include a design competition to ensure that the hotel and conference center would be aesthetically pleasing and not detract from the visual appeal of the museum itself.
“The design would have to be such that it would have to be pleasing and not distract in any way,” he stressed.
Standing atop an overlook, Christmas pointed to an area of wetlands that contain a portion of the Old Kings Highway.
“Thanks to Prince William County, as you all know we have this 135-acre site, bounded on the west by [Interstate] 95 and on the east by Route 1,” he said, while promising that the wetlands would be preserved when new trails, which are currently in the design phase, are put in.
“We don’t want to encroach on the wetlands,” said McKay. “We’re going to run one trail right down along the edge of the wetlands alongside the buffer area, but not in the wetlands.
The campus itself currently boasts around 6,000 linear feet of trails, all Americans with Disabilities compliant.
“We’ve got one of the greatest playgrounds in the world,” Christmas said. “This is for everybody.”
The Foundation has been awarded a total of $1.25 million in grants — $500,000 for the design and the remaining for construction of the trails. Bordering the trails will be a series of memorial bricks that can be purchased to honor a friend or loved one’s service in the Marine Corps. The campus currently boasts 13,000 memorial bricks that line the pathway through the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park.
“The new trails that we’re designing will take a total of 38,000 bricks,” said McKay.
Work is well under way on the non-denominational chapel, which will accommodate up to 77 people when it is completed in September. Regular services will not be held at the chapel, but it will be open for private reflections and available to host weddings and funerals.
“We’ve already had folks signing up for weddings,” said McKay.
For more information on the museum, visit usmc
museum.org.