"These skeletons in our closet are not be hidden" said Penn president Amy Gutmann this morning while announcing plans for a massive, multi-year renovation of the school's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Gutmann was referring to the museum's collection of 12,000 skeletons, and over 1 million objects and artifacts, that will soon have more room to be on display, many for the first time, after the transformation completes.

New York's Gluckman Tang Architects is leading the project aimed at modernizing its presentation of artifacts and enhancing visitor experience. The Building Transformation, which includes better lighting, more elevators and bathrooms, and expansive air conditioning, will proceed in three parts. The first, costing $21 million, entails overhauling the Middle Eastern, Mexico and Central America, and Africa galleries.

Phase Two, the most dramatic, is focused on the museum's renowned 15,000 square foot Egyptian galleries and includes shoring up the floor of the upper gallery in order to display architectural fragments from the royal palace of Merenptah, never before seen in it's entirety.

Phase Three of the project includes renovation of the museum rotunda, reinstallation of its Asian collection, and completion of the building’s first HVAC system. The project is expected to complete in 2021, and when all's said and done, will be the most extensive upgrade the museum has seen in over 100 years.