Volunteers and University Museums employees spent much of Thursday hanging garland and arranging holiday decorations at the Farm House museum, the first signs of public interaction at the building since it closed for renovations in April.

The museum is scheduled for its grand re-opening on Nov. 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It was closed for $370,000 in renovations, including a new roof, porch additions on the west, south and east sides, and a new stucco walkway that is wheelchair-accessible, said Marilyn Vaughan, communications specialist for University Museums.

More than 90 private donors, the College of Agriculture and the State Preservation for Historic Sites contributed money to make the renovations possible, she said.

The Farm House was the first structure on the Iowa Agriculture College and Model Farm campus, established in 1859, said Mary Atherly, curator of the museum. The campus was built around this house, then located in the middle of a field.

The Farm House was the center of activity, with many faculty members living there throughout its history, including the family of ISU President Charles F. Curtiss for 50 years. Original restorations on the house began in 1970 to preserve the 14-room historical site, Atherly said.

The house is furnished with many antiques, wooden floors, rugs, a wood burning stove, valuable paintings and original furnishings, she said.

“Things like that need to be kept and refurbished,” said Marianne Capito, a volunteer working to decorate the house for the holidays. “We don’t have many old things around anymore.”

But the museum is more than an old farm house — it is a home away from home for many people at ISU.

Vaughan said a lot of students come by to hang out on the porches.

“It makes freshmen feel [at home]; it is such a comfy feeling to be here,” she said.

Farm House museum staff have felt isolated with the house closed to the public for about seven months.

“We’ve missed a lot of the contact with all the students, especially in the fall,” Atherly said. “A lot of freshmen and some sophomores usually came.”

The holiday season coincides with the re-opening of the museum, and 13 volunteers gathered Thursday to decorate both the interior and exterior.

Priceless decorative antiques from the 1800s are displayed throughout the house, Vaughan said.

“I really love the home-spun decorations,” she said. “Things here have been held dear for a long time.”

Stephanie Walsh, a retired Ames art teacher who was helping to decorate Thursday morning, described her feelings about the Farm House.

“The warmth, the friendliness — just coming in and being greeted with the beautiful aroma of hot cider — it is just wonderful to come and feel the spirit,” she said.

Each year 6,000 people visit the museum, and tour openings already are filling up to see the one-of-a-kind building, Atherly said. Honors program classes will tour the Farm House during the first week of its reopening.