Located in White River State Park in the heart of Indiana’s capital city, the Indiana State Museum is a world-class institution where state residents and visitors can explore Indiana’s past, present, and future through exhibits related to the state’s arts, culture and natural science.

The museum features 72,000 square feet of exhibit space, two restaurants, a two-story gift shop, and state-of-the-art preservation labs and collection storage facilities for the museum’s collection of more than 400,000 artifacts.

Upon construction of the new facility, two challenges faced potential contractors. First, the building had to integrate and expand existing systems because it was built around an IMAX Theater. To incorporate the theater into the new building, walls were torn down, and the building was constructed around the existing seating and screen. Second, the 230,000 square-foot building had to balance the needs of its artifacts, employees, and guests.

To meet these needs, management sought to contract with a company that could provide accurate control over the internal environments. Of the four companies that bid on the HVAC control system, KMC provided the most competitive solution. The museum hired KMC-Indianapolis to install its Digital Control Systems and provide support throughout the building process.

The museum facility has approximately 4,000 control points. The KMC program continuously monitors these points to ensure the HVAC system is maintaining a comfortable environment throughout the building.

KMC-Indianapolis continues to work with the museum’s facility management staff. The museum’s location allows it to provide fast, on-site response. The museum has contracted KMC for other projects, including an upgrade of the museum’s graphics department for a small humidity monitoring retrofit.

Ron Tolan, facility manager of the museum, said, “KMC has enabled us to keep a tighter control over the environment. Because of the sensitivity of museum artifacts, it is important that we maintain a certain temperature and humidity level. Using the KMC program, we can monitor and maintain the exact conditions we are looking for.”