The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a change Friday in how the $15.9 million renovation of Elephant Hall at Lincoln’s Morrill Hall will be managed. University President Jeffrey Gold said the project’s complexity, including a building addition and work inside a historic facility, prompted the recommendation.
The university will use a construction manager at risk approach, replacing the previously approved design-build method. Under the new arrangement, the university will hold separate contracts with the architect and construction manager, allowing greater oversight of the design and construction planning.
Gold said the approach provides flexibility in “managing the project risks and ensuring a successful on-time and on-budget project execution.” The construction manager will work with the university and design team throughout the project.
The renovation, approved by regents in April, will update Elephant Hall and two adjacent galleries, preserve and digitize fossils, and restore the historic Elizabeth Dolan murals. According to the Nebraska State Museum’s project website, the largely donor-funded work is planned to begin in summer 2027 and conclude by January 2029.
Archie, the museum’s mammoth skeleton, will be temporarily dismantled for conservation and digitization before returning as the centerpiece of the renovated Elephant Hall. Updated exhibits will feature current research on mammoths and other mammals of the Great Plains, along with additional fossils from the museum’s research collections.
Nearly one-third of the project’s budget will support fossil conservation and digitization. Many specimens have been displayed since Morrill Hall opened in 1927, and the renovation will replace their supporting frameworks to help preserve them and improve access for researchers.
Plans also include a freight elevator on the building’s south side to make moving large fossils and exhibits safer. The museum has not determined whether or when Morrill Hall will close during construction, saying those decisions will depend on the final design.
More information is available on the Nebraska State Museum’s Elephant Hall renovation page.