Smithsonian exhibit extended at Wallace State

The Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition “The Way We Worked” will earn overtime as its run has been extended by one week at The Evelyn Burrow Museum on the campus of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville. Originally scheduled to run through March 20, the exhibit will now run through March 27.
The exhibit’s popularity and the recent winter weather contributed to the decision to extend the run of the exhibit. The exhibit was closed several days within a two-week period due to several inches of snow and ice accumulation. The exhibit has proved popular among area school groups, several of which were unable to attend due to the closure.
Hundreds of people have walked through the museum to see the touring exhibit provided by the Smithsonian Institution and artifacts collected and displayed by the Cullman County Museum. The exhibit also includes a series of displays from NASA.
Running in conjunction with “The Way We Worked” is an exhibit of original oil paintings by Lee Nabors entitled “How Have You Made Your Mark? A Study of Hands.”
Expressly chosen by the Alabama Humanities Foundation to host “The Way We Worked” as part of the Museum on Main Street project, the Cullman area is one of only six communities in the state selected for the honor. The exhibit is currently on view in Valley, making previous stops in Athens and Pell City. From Cullman, it will travel to Demopolis and Dothan.
The project — a national, state and local partnership — brings exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations as a way to explore the professions and the people that sustain the American society.
“The Way We Worked,” adapted from an original exhibition developed by the National Archives and Records Administration, explores how work has become a central element in American culture. It traces the many changes that have affected the workforce and work environments over the past 150 years, including the growth of manufacturing and increasing use of technology. The exhibition draws from the Archives’ rich collections, including historical photographs, archival accounts of workers, film, audio and interactives, to tell the compelling story of how work impacts our individual lives and the historical and cultural fabric of our communities.
“The Way We Worked” is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation and local host institutions. To learn more about “The Way We Worked” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org.
Support for Museum on Main Street is provided by the United States Congress, Alabama Power Foundation, Norfolk Southern Foundation, Sweet Home Alabama travel guide, and AAA Cooper Transportation. Cullman’s exhibition is a joint project of the City of Cullman, Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, Cullman County Community Development Commission, Cullman County Museum, Cullman Economic Development Agency, and Wallace State Community College.
The Evelyn Burrow Museum is open Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free. To schedule tours, contact Donny Wilson at 256.352.8457 or email donny.wilson@wallacestate.edu.