We’re so excited to share with you our plans for a massive new exhibit scheduled for this June.
The Smithsonian’s Hometown Teams traveling exhibition examines the many roles that sports play in American society. Hometown sports are more than just games—they shape our lives and unite us and celebrate who we are as Americans. We play on ball fields and sandlots, on courts and on ice, in parks and playgrounds, even in the street. From pick-up games to organized leagues, millions of Americans of all ages play sports. And, if we’re not playing sports, we’re watching them. We sit in the stands and root for the local high school team, or gather on the sidelines and cheer on our sons and daughters as they take their first swing or score their first goal.
Thanks to our never-ending appetite for competition and games, Americans now have a wider selection of sports to play and watch than ever before. Football, baseball, and basketball—America’s traditional hometown sports—share space on our calendars with soccer, hockey, tennis, running, wrestling, skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, sailing, and many other sports. What has occurred in our hometowns is nothing less than a sports revolution.
Along with all the great items that will be on display in the exhibit, we’ll be featuring local sports pictures gathered from the Laurel County Historical Society and the Sentinel-Echo and other treasured keepsakes from our local schools.
To kick off the exhibit, we’ll be hosting a GRAND OPENING Saturday, June 10th.
Travis Freeman, subject of the football film 23 Blast, will kick off the opening of the exhibit with an inspirational presentation that starts at 11:00am in the auditorium. The ribbon cutting will take place just before noon, followed by music, fun, and food from 1:00 to 2:00pm or while supplies last. The exhibit will open to the public at 1:00pm.
This exhibit will be on display from June 10th–July 8th during regular library hours. Please see the calendar for more exciting programming related to this exhibit.
Hometown Teams is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Kentucky Humanities Council.