OMAHA, Neb. -- A sculpture in honor of quilters went up in Lincoln on Wednesday.

Workers are putting on the finishing touches on the new International Quilting Center.

The sculpture in front of the building is called "Reverie," which means daydream.

Artist Linda Fleming said she wanted to create something that played off of light and that people could wander into.

"That would be reflective of getting together for a quilting bee, perhaps. So, the structure will do that," Fleming said.

The $12 million facility open March 30 and will house more than 2,300 quilts.

The grand opening will be from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the East Campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, north 33rd and Holdrege streets, on March 30.

The glass and brick building, designed by the internationally renowned Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York, will house the world's largest collection of quilts, and an international study center dedicated to the research, preservation and display of important quilts from cultures around the world.

The facility was privately funded through contributions to the University of Nebraska Foundation, including a lead gift from the Robert and Ardis James Foundation of Chappaqua, N.Y.

In addition to the Ardis and Robert James Collection of antique and contemporary studio art quilts, the collection also includes the Cargo Collection of African American Quilts, and the Jonathan Holstein Collection, which includes the seminal Whitney Collection and an unparalleled group of Pennsylvania Amish quilts.

As part of the grand opening activities, famed quilter Nancy Crow will lecture on contemporary quilts at 4 p.m. in the Harding Center Auditorium.

A Virtual Quilt Gallery will be available at both the IQSC and online at www.quiltstudy.org. It will provide multimedia and interactive experiences for visitors of all ages. Individuals may design a quilt, inspect details of quilts from the thousands of archived images and videotape their own quilt stories on topics including family memories, artistic inspiration, technical challenges and historical facts. These Web-based services will allow visitors to share their experiences via e-mail.

A graduate program in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies has been created; it is the only program of its kind in the world.