The historic McCalla School, located on the edge of the IU Bloomington campus on the corner of 9th and Indiana, recently underwent a $6 million renovation funded by the state of Indiana, with additional support provided by the John W. Anderson Foundation and the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation. The newly upgraded space delivers innovative, hands-on classroom and instruction tools, interactive digital displays, multiple gallery spaces, and a multipurpose room for events and other needs.
Description of the video:
McCalla CTREC Video – Descriptive Transcript[Music fades in][Video: fades from black to a aerial view of IU Bloomington campus][Audio: Woman narrator speaks off screen] Indiana University is home to over two hundred and fifty—
[Video: a warehouse with boxes and artwork sitting on a shelf] world-class collections
[Video: A worker pulls a box from a shelf in a big warehouse onto her cart] that stretch across human history and span the globe.
[Video: A statue of Megalonyx jeffersonii in a lobby area] With the new Collections,
[Video: exterior view of the new McCalla building] Teaching, Research and Exhibition Center at the historic McCalla School,
[Video: Warehouse of art pieces seen] all IU collections will finally
[Video: two workers inspect a purse in a warehouse] have access to a community outreach space
[Video: art pieces seen on a shelf as two workers talk behind them] custom designed for engagement
[Video: A rendering of an exhibit about Herman B. Wells filled with people] with students, faculty, and the public
[Video: A rendering of a gallery space is seen] at large.
[Video: Exterior view of new McCalla school building] McCalla will serve as a community hub to explore IU’s collections in a variety of ways and
[Video: A rendering of a gallery with digital displays and artworks] across disciplinary boundaries, whether the
[Video: a photo of a T.C. Steele painting with a blurred moving background] arts,
[Video: two workers inspect clothing pieces in a warehouse] humanities, or
[Video: A statue of Megalonyx jeffersonii in a lobby area] the sciences. Classrooms
[Video: Empty classroom with moveable tables a moveable desk and projector screen] will allow for faculty, students, and community groups
[Video: Room with chairs and multiple tables arranged into 1 table and a large tv screen and camera] to engage with collections in a flexible educational setting,
[Video: Rendering of a man in front of a multi-panel gallery screen] including a new teaching lab designed for immersive,
[Video: a man stands in front of a digital touchscreen display] hands-on learning.
[Video: Top down view rendering of the new building showing the entrance, lobby, and 4 spaces] The new facility will provide cutting edge technologies, including touchscreen
[Video: Rendering of a touchscreen digital display table] digital displays and a devoted
[Video: Rendering of the Media Gallery Theater] time-based media gallery that will allow patrons to explore the wealth of audiovisual collections at IU.
[Video: Fades to exterior view of McCalla School building] The multipurpose room will be an ideal space
[Video: Fades to a photo of the multipurpose room with large round tables and chairs, projection screen, and multiple paintings on the wall] for lectures, screenings, workshops, and other events sponsored by IU or community partners.
[Video: Rendering of Music & Entertainment Gallery] McCalla’s seven gallery spaces will host one-of-a-kind
[Video: Paintings hung on the wall] exhibits featuring the best that IU has to offer.
[Video: two workers hang a large painting on the wall] McCalla will make it possible to highlight collections
[Video: art piece sits on a shelf filled with white boxes] previously never seen by the public, allow
[Video: Rendering of music gallery with a blurred moving background] multiple collections to collaborate
[Video: Two workers measure a space between two paintings] and will create a space for new
[Video: Two workers measure the length of a frame] curatorial voices through exhibits
[Video: Rendering of a hallway with a woman viewing multiple art works hung on the wall] and events co-designed by students and community
[Video: Two workers talk and point toward art pieces inside a warehouse] stakeholders. At McCalla,
[Video: Worker moves through isles of shelves with a cart with boxes] there will be no limit to the ways that collections can be examined,
[Video: a worker removes plastic covering from a art piece inside a warehouse] combined, and celebrated.
[Video: Exterior view of McCalla School building, then video darkens][Animation: red line appears and swipes to the right of screen, Text: McCalla.iu.edu animates left of red line, then animates out] To learn more or to donate, visit mccalla.iu.edu.
[Video: fades to black][Music: fades out]
McCalla is now home to the new University Collections at McCalla (UCM), which engages students, faculty, visiting researchers, and public audiences with IU’s world-class collections that span disciplines, time periods, and geography. These include many significant art, cultural, historical, and scientific collections across all nine IU campuses. UCM serves as an accessible hub, allowing collections to be used across disciplinary boundaries so that objects can be connected in new and imaginative ways, including via physical exhibits, digital content, classroom instruction, hands-on learning lab interactions, and public events.
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The public galleries feature rotating content curated by University Collections staff and by collections professionals, faculty, and students from across IU. Media kiosks enhance visitor experience and feature audiovisual content from IU collections. Classrooms, the collections lab, and the multipurpose room are available via reservation to faculty, staff, and students who wish to have the opportunity to more deeply engage in collections content.
University Collections at McCalla provides an opportunity for different IU collections to speak to one another in new and different ways, with an emphasis on collaboration across disciplines and a multiplicity of curatorial voices. This interdisciplinary approach is one that few universities—indeed, few collections anywhere—can offer, and it allows IU to give new life to these collections and to enhance its research, teaching, and service mission.
What does McCalla have?
- Seven gallery spaces that house temporary and semi-permanent exhibits
- One media gallery with theater seating for viewing audiovisual content
- Interactive media kiosks in the first and second floor lobbies for exploring IU audiovisual content
- A classroom with standard technology setup
- A seminar room
- A collections lab for hands-on learning with collections materials
- A multipurpose room with built in audiovisual projection



What can you tell me about McCalla’s gallery exhibits?
- All galleries are free and open to the public
- Some exhibits are semi-permanent, made up of materials from across the myriad IU collections
- Faculty and students who are interested in creating exhibits can work with University Collections staff in creating temporary shows
- Galleries are available to all IU collections to display their materials or to collaborate on exhibits with faculty, other non-IU collections staff, or community partners
- McCalla provides select display cases, portable media kiosks, and other basic exhibit necessities to help with the exhibit design process
- An exhibit preparation space is available to partners

How else can McCalla serve you?
- University Collections staff are available to help with exhibit planning and scheduling for the temporary exhibit spaces
- The classroom, collections lab, and seminar room can be reserved by IU faculty, staff, and select community partners who complement UCM's mission and who have an interest in collections-based teaching
- University Collections staff will work with you in scheduling the multipurpose room for lectures and events that relate to your collection
- If you have an idea for a unique collaboration that involves collections, contact us and let us brainstorm with you


Collections images courtesy of Calumet Regional Archives; Ray Bradbury Center, the Sage Collection, University Collections, Center for Underwater Science.