Quilt museum wins Nebraskaland Foundation tourism award

The Nebraskaland Foundation has named the International Quilt Study Center and Museum its Rising Star Award winner, recognizing the new museum on the East Campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a significant contributor to the state's tourism effort.

The privately funded museum opened March 30 and has attracted crowds of visitors from all 50 states and nearly 20 foreign countries. The museum won the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce 2008 Tourism Development award earlier this year. It is the home of the world's largest collection of quilts, which spans four centuries and represents traditions from more than 20 countries. The International Quilt Study Center was formed in 1997 following the donation of more than 950 quilts from the private collection of Robert and Ardis James of Chappaqua, N.Y. The collection has grown to include more than 2,300 quilts, and more than 20 exhibitions have displayed the pieces throughout Nebraska and the world.

The Nebraskaland Foundation was organized in 1962 to enrich the lives of all Nebraskans. The foundation is the official, nonprofit corporation formed to assist state government and its residents by contributing to the social, historic, cultural, and economic well-being of the State. The Rising Star Award Was created in 1999 to recognize outstanding tourism attractions which have added value to the over all tourism effort of the local area, the region, and of the state. Some of the previous 15 award winners include the Homestead Heritage Center, the Lauritzen Gardens and Botanical Center, the Great Platte River Road Archway and the Red Cloud Opera House.

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 1523 N. 33rd St., is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays and major holidays. Docent-led tours begin at 11 a.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for non-UNL students with ID and children; $10 for families; free for children under 5, museum members, and UNL faculty, staff and students with ID. For more information, call (402) 472-6459 or visit www.quiltstudy.org. The International Quilt Study Center is an academic program of the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design in the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences.