June 8, 1926
A Museum Committee is formed and soon petitions the city for space to build in Highland Park – but the city could not afford to construct a building.
January 9, 1927
The first Museum opens in the Hawthorne school building.
April 17, 1932
Needing more space, the Museum moves to the Morton school building.
June 15, 1939
Hastings Museum opens in a new building at its current location. The original space was built with the assistance of WPA grants received in 1937.
September 11, 1958
Hastings Museum’s planetarium opens, the construction of which was made possible by the J.M. McDonald Foundation.
January 14, 1972
A $342,000 contract was signed to build the Museum’s second addition. Fundraising for the addition began in 1968 and was headed by Stanley Abbott.
May 21, 1985
A third addition along the north side of the building opened. It included two storage rooms for the collection and a children’s interactive center.
January 11, 1991
The Museum announced plans for the addition of a large screen theatre to present films. The original system was IMAX but it was switched to MegaSystems in 2001, which also allowed the showing of Hollywood-type movies.
March 20, 2009
The Planetarium opens after undergoing a dome upgrade and the addition of a full dome projector. The project was supported by the J.M. McDonald Foundation and the Hastings Museum Foundation.
August 8, 2011
Hastings Museum announced it had achieved accreditation from the American Association of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition for a museum.
October 25, 2011
An upgraded Theatre opens, complete with a new screen and the latest in digital projection technology, including the ability to show films and movies in 3D. The project was supported by the Hastings Museum Foundation.