A recent tour provided a preview of what visitors will see when the building opens. It's also our treasure chest. The exhibit director is Ralph Appelbaum, whose work includes the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium in New York City. The tour starts with a series of giant mazes, where visitors will walk through the early history of country music. Artifacts and music samples placed along the way help tell the story.
Visitors can select music during the tour, and get a customized CD at the end.
Visitors will then be able to view a display of stage outfits that traces the evolution of a country star's image. There are about 900 albums. The museum also includes the office of Owen Bradley, producer for Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, as it was when he died in 1998. There will be a library, theater and space for rotating exhibits. So maybe a songwriter will be demonstrating how he works, or a bluegrass band will be playing.