About 200 people attended the grand opening of the new Museum of Missouri Military History, which features three times the space as the old museum, interactive displays, virtual exhibits and a 1967 Cobra attack helicopter.
"It's bigger, it's better, it's got more to see," said Robert Wiegers, president of the Missouri Society of Military History.
The 6,400-square-foot museum replaces the original museum, which opened with about 900 square feet of space in 1999 after a push by members of the society, including current and retired members of the Missouri National Guard.
"People were saving things that were to eventually become the museum," Wiegers told the crowd.
The best way to experience the museum, he said, is to "sip it a little at a time," like a champagne.
The museum is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Groups larger than 10 can request visiting times during the evenings or on Saturdays if they give 30 days' notice, Museum Director Charles Machon said.
Maj. General Steve Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, said the original core group that started the museum back then did so with a mantra "to do more with less."
"This expanded museum has been a dream that I've shared for years," Danner said in a speech. "We're not building a monument for those here today. We're building a monument for our children."
The program said that Danner devoted $1 million and a dedicated team to support the project.
"It's absolutely wonderful," said Regina Meyer, an archaeologist with the Missouri National Guard who came to the grand opening. She has helped Machon see the project to fruition.
She said the World War II exhibit is her favorite, since her father served in the war.
Meyer was chatting with a museum volunteer about a chaplain's kit on display. That and many other exhibits that were previously in storage because of space limitations at the museum's old location were being shown for the first time.
Some "virtual" exhibits feature QR codes that can be scanned with a smartphone to provide more information.