NILES — Last Tuesday, Chapin Mansion at 508 E. Main St. in Niles received a grand reopening ceremony. Its new ramp and renovated porch and balcony were put to good use as mansion enthusiasts and new comers toured the 1820s-era building in an open house.

While the $280,000 project is complete, Niles History Center director Christina Arseneau said more improvements are to come as events and programs occur.

“I was thrilled with the turnout,” she said. “We had over 200 people attend. Everyone seemed really happy and excited to be there.”

Next on the agenda is to install heating, venting and air conditioning systems into the building. Last Tuesday, some Chapin Mansion attendees noted how stuffy and hot it was in the building.

In the winter, the house is heated by a boiler, which Arseneau said is inefficient.

Minimizing heat, humidity and frigidness from season to season not only keeps people comfortable, but better preserves the mansion’s rooms, furniture, artistic flourishes and décor, she said.

New paint and stained glass repairs are also on the docket, as well as electrical updates.

“We’re always looking at the next restoration project with the mansion,” Arseneau said. “With an old house, there’s always something.”

Behind the mansion is its former carriage house, now the home of the Fort St. Joseph Museum. Some of its updates are already occurring.

Arseneau is working to update the museum’s exhibits that tell the history of Fort St. Joseph, a 17th Century fort controlled by various nations in what is now Niles.

The Fort. St. Joseph Archaeological Project run by Western Michigan University finished its yearly excavations earlier this month, and Arseneau would like to include some of its recent findings in her exhibits, from religious objects to tradeable beads.

She will also update some of the museum’s signage to reflect the information that has been discovered by the archaeological project since they were made.

As updates are undertaken, both the mansion and museum will stay open and offer events for all ages.

“We try to be accessible to everybody,” Arseneau said.

She said that not only means providing accessible equipment, like Chapin Mansion’s new ramp or free museum admission, but providing events and exhibits that are impactful for children and adults.

Arseneau said her background is in education and museum education, so bringing children to the center, whether through field trips or personal visits, is especially important to her.

“When I see kids light up and get excited when they come to the museum, that’s when I get excited,” she said. “That’s why I do this.”

Arseneau often finds that a field trip to the Niles History Center is a young student’s first experience in a museum. She wants them to enjoy their time and continue coming back for years to come.

“They’re the ones that are going to update these exhibits in the future,” she said.

Arseneau provided a brief overview of the center’s accessible programming this summer, fall and winter.

Guided tours of the Chapin Mansion began at 1 p.m. last Friday and Saturday and will continue to be offered each Friday and Saturday through December. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and over.

On Sept. 6, a historical walking tour of downtown Niles will be hosted. It will complement an Oct. 19 historical tour of Silverbrook Cemetery.

Chapin Mansion will be turned into a wizarding school Oct. 19 for the history center’s Magical Evening of Wizardry. The third annual event will feature events reflective of famous books and movies about wizards, such as crafts, sporting games, scavenger hunts and a costume contest.

On Nov. 23, a holiday open house will be hosted. Attendees will be able to see decorated rooms inside Chapin Mansion, live reindeer outside and Santa Claus next door at the Niles District Library.

“One of the things that we’re always trying to balance is keeping history relevant and trusting. We try to get families involved,” Arseneau said.