By 2017, the same features that had made the exhibit cutting-edge were seen as outdated. The vice president for exhibitions at the museum compared the old layout to a labyrinth, and called it mysterious. On October 26, 2017, the exhibit closed to undergo a $32 million redesign by Ralph Appelbaum Associates. The redesigned halls were scheduled to be completed in 2020 to correspond with the museum's 150th anniversary, but their reopening was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 12, 2021, the renovated halls reopened to the general public.
