LYONS — The Rice County Historical Society/Coronado Quivira Museum has been selected to participate in a Smithsonian pilot project to develop a unique humanities-based exhibition about local work history. The project is a hands-on opportunity for local cultural professionals to learn about the exhibition development process used by the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program. 

The curatorial framework for the exhibition is provided by the Smithsonian and will be fleshed out by the Rice County Historical Society using local historical images, art and artifacts, video clips and oral histories. The resulting exhibition will reflect the strong history and culture of Rice County and central Kansas. 

The completed exhibition will bring to light the who, what, where, why and how of Rice County and the area at work, and how it fits within the nation’s history. It explores the places Americans work, how work became such a central element in American culture by tracing the many changes that affected the workforce and work environments over the past 150 years. By incorporating local elements, each participating community will have an engaging exhibition specific to their location.    

MoMS is a partnership of the Smithsonian institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and state humanities councils. It was created to serve museums, libraries and historical societies in rural areas, where about one-fifth of all Americans live. The partnership brings exhibitions, educational resources and programming to small towns across America. MoMS has visited all 50 U.S. states as well as Guam and inspired some 1,600 towns to rediscover their local histories while finding a renewed sense of community pride. Funding for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress. Visit online at museumonmainstreet.org.

SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For more information, including exhibition descriptions and tour schedules, visit sites.si.edu.

The Rice County Historical Society is located at 105 West Lyon, Lyons. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday and from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. For additional information call 620-257-3941.