Smithsonian Institute exhibit coming to Museum of Rexburg in 2020 - East Idaho News
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Smithsonian Institute exhibit coming to Museum of Rexburg in 2020

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REXBURG — The Museum of Rexburg will host an exhibit that is part of the Smithsonian Institute’s “Museum on Main Street” program next spring.

The exhibit, titled “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” delves into the way rural American communities have evolved over the course of the 20th century. It tracks the impact of factors such as technology, demographic shifts and societal changes have affected life in Small Town U.S.A.

“(‘Crossroads’) touches on a lot of different areas,” Rexburg Cultural Arts Director Jackie Rawlins told EastIdahoNews.com. “It talks about Main Street America starting out with the agricultural area, then small towns and how that kind of got pushed out by the development of the country.”

Rawlins also said that “Crossroads” touches on the effect America’s small towns have had on the country as a whole. The exhibit was designed especially for small-town museums, libraries and other cultural organizations. Rexburg is one of five stops the exhibit will make as it wends its way through Idaho. Other Idaho stops include Salmon, Lewiston and Nampa.

Along with “Crossroads,” the Museum will be running a sister exhibit covering the growth and development of the Rexburg area. The sister display will highlight how factors ranging from agriculture to religion have impacted the course of local history and helped Rexburg to become the town it is today.

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Courtesy Museum of Rexburg

“One of the areas we will be focusing on is the university,” Rawlins said, referring to Brigham Young University-Idaho. “It is a big part of our community. A lot of people don’t know why it was started. They think it was a college right off the bat and it wasn’t, it was an academy. We’ll be talking a lot about that and why people in the community started that and the need for that.”

Both exhibits invite visitors to dig into their own history and explore the past and present, as well as the possibilities the future may hold for Rexburg residents.

“I think (visitors) will be able to connect with their own history,” Rawlins said. “I think that they will be able to find something that will speak to them, whether it’s something from their childhood or something from their family history. And whether they’re from here or not, I think it will spark something in them. I think it will help them reflect on their own personal life and what they bring into their own circle of existence.”

“There’s the idea of growth, too,” museum spokesperson Alicia Tietjen said. “How growth can change and how you can grow big and then small and then big. And how it doesn’t always have to be negative.”

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Courtesy Museum of Rexburg

Both Rawlins and Tietjen are excited for “Crossroads” and hope members of the community will take full advantage of their chance to come and see it.

“We really want people to come out and see this traveling exhibit here,” Rawlins said. “By people showing up in person, it will show that it’s worth the time and effort and money we’re putting into these traveling exhibits. If the community supports it, then we have a reason to keep doing it.”

“We’re reaching out to the schools as well,” added Tietjen. “We really want the schools to come because this is an opportunity for the kids to come and see something special. We want them to get excited about their history, because if you know your history, then you know who you are.”

The Smithsonian Institute’s “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” opens at the Museum of Rexburg March 9, 2020. It will stay at the museum through April 17, 2020. More information can be found on the museum’s website or on its Facebook page.

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