Starting February 1, two new exhibits in the Family History Center at the Trails & Rails Museum are open the general public. According to Broc Anderson, the Community Engagement Director, guests can spend several hours just perusing the two free exhibits alone.
The newest traveling exhibit at the Trails & Rails Museum is the Bison exhibit. Not only does this exhibit create an interactive environment that combines history, artifacts, and hands-on activities, but also brings to life the story of this great North American mammal. This exhibit originally toured as The Bison: American Icon through the NEH on the Road program, based on a project by the C. M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana. The National Buffalo Foundation acquired the exhibit at the end of this tour. Refurbished and updated, was made available to museums across the US and Canada to tell the tragic history of this majestic animal, its rescue from near extinction, and the story of people across North America working to preserve the bison as a vibrant part of our future. According to Anderson, “Trails & Rails Museum is fortunate to have the Bison exhibit, especially how it relates to Native peoples and the geography of the Great Plains before, during, and after non-native settlement.” Bison will be available to all guests February 1 – May 14.
Additionally, the rotating exhibit that the Trails & Rails Museum establishes on an annual basis features the theme “Kearney 150” in honor of the sesquicentennial year. As the first exhibit guests see when they walk through the door, the timeline of photos along the museums south display wall provide guests a brief walk through before entering the rest of the exhibit. “One of the prominent aspects of this year’s rotating exhibit features the history of the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department,” according to Anderson. Among several artifacts on loan to the museum for display include KVFD’s ballot box, gas masks, and the 1901 Fire Races Nebraska Championship belt. Among other displays within the exhibit feature a section of Kearney during World War II, educational institutions, and the events and programs related to the sesquicentennial celebration happening this year.
Additionally, later this year, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition called Voices and Votes making its way across Nebraska will also stop in Kearney at the Trails & Rails Museum this June. “We have a lot going on at the museum, and we hope folks in our community take advantage of it,” according to Anderson.
