If you expand it, more people will come to experience the diverse collection.
That paraphrase of the tag line - "If you build it, they will come" - from the film "Field of Dreams" applies to the exponential growth at the Museum of Missouri Military History.
The collection has grown anew with the acquisition of more than 800 items from the National Military Heritage Museum in St. Joseph, which closed recently.
Curator Charles Machon of the local museum said the acquisition would not have been possible without the 2014 opening of a larger facility at the Ike Skelton Training Center east of Jefferson City.
Since the reopening, the museum has hosted more than 10,000 visitors.
Among the attractions are expanded outdoor exhibits, including two tanks and a variety of aircraft - a helicopter, fighter jets and a C-130 transport.
And, indoors, the new acquisitions are expected to attract more visitors, although they will have to wait until spring until the items are identified, catalogued and ready for display.
Machon and volunteer assistant Doug Sheley traveled to St. Joseph and devoted six days to exploring the collection, which was divided between the local museum and the Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site, where much of the World War I items will be housed.
Items to be displayed locally include uniforms, patches, books, maps, flags and a syringe kit used by military medics. The collection also includes items acquired from military allies and enemies.
"These things," Machon said, "really help to tell the story."
Ultimately, a goal of any museum is perpetuate knowledge of the past by preserving it- through words, visuals and artifacts.
As museum collections grow, gaps are filled in and the stories become more complete and more vivid.
Count us among the community members eager to experience these more comprehensive stories of our military history.