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Museum on Main Street (MoMS) Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is MoMS?
2. Why is MoMS needed?
3. What are the mission and objectives of MoMS?
4. What is MoMS' exhibition focus?
5. What is the history of MoMS?
6. Has MoMS visited my state?
7. How is MoMS supported?
8. How can I bring MoMS to my community?
9. How can I get more information?
What is MoMS?
Museum on Main Street (MoMS) is a one-of-a-kind cultural project that serves
small town museums and residents of rural America. It is a partnership
of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES),
the Federation of State Humanities Councils, and state humanities
councils nationwide. Museum on Main Street combines the prestige
of Smithsonian exhibitions, the program expertise of state humanities
councils, and the remarkable volunteerism and unique histories of
small rural towns. Museum on Main Street is funded by the United States Congress.
Why is MoMS needed?
One-fifth of all Americans live in rural areas and one-half of all
U.S. museums are located in small, rural towns. Though rural museums
demonstrate uncanny enthusiasm for local heritage, they have the
fewest opportunities for funding or technical assistance of any
segment in the museum field. Museum on Main Street provides these
institutions with access to otherwise scarce resources and assists
them in making lasting improvements that advance their institution's
ambitions.
What are the mission and objectives for MoMS?
Museum on Main Street combines cultural resources at federal, state,
and local levels to provide high-quality
educational events to underserved rural citizens and to spark lasting
professional improvement for small town museums.
Museum on Main Street:
- shares Smithsonian collections, research, and exhibitions with
rural Americans;
- broadens public interest in American history and develops a
heightened awareness of local heritage;
- inspires community revitalization, pride, and cooperation;
- motivates small, rural museums to make lasting institutional
advancements.
Museum on Main Street is...
- Resourceful -- small towns
host Smithsonian exhibitions and high-profile public events that
in turn leverage substantial local support;
- Educational -- using state scholars, national curators,
and first-rate teacher and docent materials, small museums present
provocative educational programs focused on local heritage;
- Lasting -- technical assistance
to museums provided by state and Smithsonian professionals leave
participant museums markedly changed in the areas of marketing,
exhibitry,volunteerism, and fundraising;
- Fun -- from parade floats to
music concerts, fashion shows to petting zoos, small town residents
celebrate with popular public gatherings;
- Necessary -- the only effort
of its kind, Museum on Main Street addresses the acute cultural
needs of underserved, rural America;
- Collaborative -- we join state
and national resources for the benefit of rural towns, but believe
that the project's emphasis should remain local. Museum on Main
Street is a model project of collaboration;
- Imaginative -- the project's
emphasis on maintaining local ownership and small town topics
yields radical differences in each community, which is demonstrated
with creative and surprising public activities;
- Ambitious -- though more than
350 small towns in 36 states have participated to date, we've
only scratched the surface. We hope to allow every state a chance
to regularly participate in Museum on Main Street.
What is MoMS' exhibition focus?
Museum on Main Street circulates Smithsonian exhibitions
focusing on broad topics of national history. To date, these exhibitions
have inspired heightened awareness of local history on avariety
of subjects: the World War II home front experience, the historic
significance of barns and American farm families, scientific predictions
for the future since the late 19th century, and America's regional
food traditions. All exhibitions are freestanding, contain original
objects, and travel in easy-to-handle wheeled crates. State humanities
councils help local organizers to prepare exhibit-related events
with scholarly consultations and preparatory workshops. Small town
participants add hard work, ambition, and a sense of fun. As a result,
rural museums benefit from high visibility, increased attendance,
professional museum training, and capital improvements to their
facilities.
MoMS
History
It all began in 1991 when thirteen state humanities
councils, in coordination with SITES, received a grant from the
Smithsonian's Special Exhibition Fund and conducted a survey of
nearly one hundred small, remote cultural institutions. This landmark
survey assessed the programmatic and exhibition preferences of rural
museums, historical organizations and libraries and provided the
basis for state humanities councils' ongoing collaboration with
SITES that eventually developed into Museum on Main Street. The
survey verified that residents of America's small towns experience
severe geographic, economic and cultural isolation. These small
but vibrant facilities located in rural areas often serve as community
centers, well positioned to offer exciting public programs, yet
are restricted from doing so by limited budgets and insufficient
staff.
These small museums are routinely excluded from traveling exhibition
programs because they cannot accommodate large structural components,
complex installations, and expensive shipping and participation
fees. Relying on the results of the survey of small museums, Smithsonian
designers developed a new exhibit format that earned a Presidential
Design Award for Excellence not only because it delivers high-quality
content in a compact package, but also because it is tailored so
precisely to the specific needs of resource-poor museums.
Museum on Main Street exhibitions have traveled to nearly 700 towns
with populations of 500 to 20,000 across the country. (Click here to see a map of past MoMS communities.) They have inspired
heightened awareness of local history. Exciting collaborations begin
between museums, educational organizations, and local businesses.
Entire communities get involved unleashing a tidal wave of public
programs and educational activities. The success of Museum on Main
Street is evidenced not only in the broad scope of public programs
in host communities, but in how the project served as a catalyst
in fostering lasting institutional advancements and ambitious capital
improvements. With ongoing federal support, Museum on Main Street
will continue to showcase local heritage in untold numbers of under-served
communities across the country.
Has MoMS visited my state?
Since 1994, MoMS exhibitions have served more than 700 communities in 43 states and one U.S. territory. States and territories participating in Museum on Main
Street include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. For a list of host states and communities, please visit our Partners page.
How is MoMS supported?
Museum on Main Street is generously supported by the United
States Congress. Additional funding has been provided by the John
S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Hearst Foundation, and participating
State Humanities Councils.
Previous support has come from the National Endowment for the Humanities,
Rockefeller Foundation, Smithsonian Institution’s Special Exhibition
Fund, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Educational Outreach
Fund.
How can I bring MoMS to my community? What should I do?
No Museum on Main Street exhibitions in your
state? This project is organized nationally but is administered
by state. If you'd like to see Museum on Main Street come to your
state, contact your state humanities council; they'd love to hear
from you. Whether you're the director of a rural museum or just
an enthusiastic audience member, contact your state humanities council
and let them know that you'd like to see the Smithsonian come to
your state's rural towns. For a complete listing of state humanities
councils nationwide visit http://www.statehumanities.org/about/councils.htm
How Can I Get More Information about MoMS?
For general information about Museum on Main Street, please call 202-633-5335 or e-mail us at moms@si.edu.
Members of the press should be sure to visit
our press section for more information.
Local and state coordinators should visit
our administration section for additional resources.
Please click here for a list of MoMS contacts.
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