His extraordinary vision and six hard years of fundraising through great obstacles might be forgotten in time. But now a lasting tribute has been installed in the library that will honor Sam Morrison, the man who envisioned a grand resource library and cultural center to replace a small community library in the historically black section of Fort Lauderdale. The animatronic figure of Sam (much like Disney’s animatronic Abraham Lincoln) is the face and voice of a dreamer. It has a metallic shell body fitted with tubes and wires with pieces of steel and a surprisingly lifelike silicone face and hands, complete with wrinkles, hair follicles, scars and age spots. When the motion sensor is tripped, Sam comes to life and tells his story.

Funding was obtained from the Friends of AARLCC and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, which was looking for a permanent exhibit at the library to promote to tourists. Morrison was flown to California where he was scanned and his voice recorded. An extra set of his clothes was re-tailored to fit the finished figure. After extensive work and computer programming of voice and movements, the figure was shipped to Florida and mounted to an office desk for permanent display. Providing power and securing the exhibit area caused extra challenges along the way.

At the time of this submission, the exhibit has not yet been made public. The library anticipates that the Morrison animatronic exhibit will become the star of every library visit and tour. It is the only animatronic display housed within a Florida library and the Convention & Visitors Bureau will promote the exhibit to attract visitors from all over the world. The exhibit will be a focal point for information about the history of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center and an example of what a person with a big dream can achieve. A slideshow video will accompany the exhibit and show the process of how the animatronic was made, providing a science lesson to go with the history lesson.