wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |State Museum's model-maker turns his eye to the Civil War

By Stephen Hooker - email

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A new Civil War exhibit will soon go on display at the State museum in Columbia, and it's being put together by a man with plenty of experience.

It's one of those situations where you actually get paid to have fun. "A lot of people say you're playing with trains, but actually if you really get into it, you not only got to learn trains, but you gotta learn the history, you gotta learn geology," said Dan Dowdey.

Dan's got it better than anyone at the State Museum -- he gets to play while making things every day. "This is a cool job," he said. "This really is."

Many of Dan's projects have old roots, but are high-tech in presentation. "It's an actual model, but it's a model in the computer," said Dowdey.

Dan's latest is a look back at a soldier's way of life during the Civil War. "We took one of the openings that's depicted at Fort Sumter and used it for our opening into the main of our Civil War exhibit," he said.

All sorts of items tell the stories of soldiers' lives. Their letters alone let you feel their heart. "There was fear," said Dowdey. "You can read the fear in the letters, you know, they may not make it. It has a bit of history to it."

It's a history you can feel through the art of Dan's work making living exhibits.

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