Museum on Main Street

Museum on Main Street brings the world-famous Smithsonian museum to rural citizens across Nebraska. These engaging exhibitions focus on common experiences from sparking lasting professional improvement for local cultural organizations.

Museum on Main Street is a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and state humanities councils nationwide that serves the small-town museums and citizens of rural America by sparking lasting professional improvement for local cultural organizations.

On Tour April 15, 2023-January 27, 2024:
Voices and Votes: Democracy in America

More than just waging a war of independence, American revolutionaries took a great leap of faith and established a new government based on the sovereignty of the people. It was a radical idea that entrusted the power of the nation not in a monarchy, but in its citizens. Each generation since continues to question how to form “a more perfect union” around this radical idea.

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is a springboard for discussions about those very questions and how they are reflected in local stories. Our democracy demands action, reaction, vision, and revision. From revolution and suffrage, to civil rights and casting ballots, everyone in every community is part of this ever-evolving story – the story of democracy in America.

Howells • April 15 – May 26, 2023
Howells Historical Society, Inc.

Kearney • June 5 – July 10, 2023
Trails & Rails Museum/Buffalo County Historical Society

Belvidere • July 19 – August 20, 2023
Thayer County Historical Society and Museum

Wahoo • August 29 – October 7, 2023
Saunders County Historical Society & Museum

Gering • October 16 – November 20, 2023
Legacy of the Plains Museum

Omaha • December 1, 2023 – January 27, 2024
Great Plains Black History Museum

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and State Humanities Councils nationwide. It is based on an exhibition by the National Museum of American History. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress and is brought to Nebraska with funding support from the Nebraska Trucking Association and other generous donors.