‘‘Key Ingredients: America by Food,” a Smithsonian traveling exhibit, opened in Bowie museums Nov. 16 and finished its run Sunday.
Coordinated by Museums on Main Street, a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils, the exhibit was housed at Belair Mansion with smaller exhibits at the Railroad Museum, Radio and Television Museum and Belair Stable Museum.
‘‘It’s been wonderful to have it here, every minute of it. I will be so sorry to see it leave,” Williams said.
Williams said the city museums ‘‘grew institutionally” from hosting the exhibit.
Among the lessons learned was the monumental task of unpacking and setting up the exhibit – which was delivered to Belair Mansion in 17 refrigerator-sized crates.
In addition to adapting to putting ‘‘big things in small spaces,” the museums forged a partnership with the Bowie Library, which had never before been done. The museums and the library co-sponsored a food-oriented lecture series, and Williams said she hopes to have other partnerships with the library for future programs.
Bowie officials brought the project to the attention of the Maryland Humanities Council, who ultimately decided to fund the exhibit for Bowie and five other community museums in Maryland.
The council was unable to provide details on how much it cost to bring the exhibit to Bowie.
Bowie was chosen because its proposal involved working with other organizations in the community, such as the schools and the library, Jean Wortman, program officer for the Maryland Humanities Council, said in October.
The community was very responsive to the exhibit, and the number of visitors increased during the exhibit’s stay there, Williams said.
‘‘There is tremendous pride in place here, and it’s something people should be proud of,” she said.
Not only did the museums see more local attendance, visitors from as far away as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania traveled to Bowie to see ‘‘Key Ingredients,” Williams said.
The exhibit was featured on a variety of food-related Web sites and list-servers, as well as the Smithsonian’s Web site.
‘‘It’s really about putting Bowie on the map, other than on the Maryland map,” Williams said.
During weekends of the ‘‘Key Ingredients” run, the museum averaged about 40 visitors, up from a typical crowd of 15 to 20 visitors on Saturdays.
On Friday, a group from the Bowie Senior Center visited Belair Mansion and toured ‘‘Key Ingredients.”
Frank Evans of Bowie said the exhibit showed a ‘‘basic human experience” and demonstrated the diversity of food across many cultures.
‘‘I think they did a nice job of showing the variety of national cuisine through the photos,” he said.
Although the exhibit has just left, Williams said the museums’ staff is already thinking ahead to future projects.
‘‘We’re already thinking about what we’re going to do next. We have a couple of ideas for the future,” she said.
Williams said she is not sure when the city museums would be eligible for funding for another exhibit, but if an opportunity becomes available, ‘‘we’ll jump in a heartbeat to get it.”
Coordinated by Museums on Main Street, a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils, the exhibit was housed at Belair Mansion with smaller exhibits at the Railroad Museum, Radio and Television Museum and Belair Stable Museum.
‘‘It’s been wonderful to have it here, every minute of it. I will be so sorry to see it leave,” Williams said.
Williams said the city museums ‘‘grew institutionally” from hosting the exhibit.
Among the lessons learned was the monumental task of unpacking and setting up the exhibit – which was delivered to Belair Mansion in 17 refrigerator-sized crates.
In addition to adapting to putting ‘‘big things in small spaces,” the museums forged a partnership with the Bowie Library, which had never before been done. The museums and the library co-sponsored a food-oriented lecture series, and Williams said she hopes to have other partnerships with the library for future programs.
Bowie officials brought the project to the attention of the Maryland Humanities Council, who ultimately decided to fund the exhibit for Bowie and five other community museums in Maryland.
The council was unable to provide details on how much it cost to bring the exhibit to Bowie.
Bowie was chosen because its proposal involved working with other organizations in the community, such as the schools and the library, Jean Wortman, program officer for the Maryland Humanities Council, said in October.
The community was very responsive to the exhibit, and the number of visitors increased during the exhibit’s stay there, Williams said.
‘‘There is tremendous pride in place here, and it’s something people should be proud of,” she said.
Not only did the museums see more local attendance, visitors from as far away as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania traveled to Bowie to see ‘‘Key Ingredients,” Williams said.
The exhibit was featured on a variety of food-related Web sites and list-servers, as well as the Smithsonian’s Web site.
‘‘It’s really about putting Bowie on the map, other than on the Maryland map,” Williams said.
During weekends of the ‘‘Key Ingredients” run, the museum averaged about 40 visitors, up from a typical crowd of 15 to 20 visitors on Saturdays.
On Friday, a group from the Bowie Senior Center visited Belair Mansion and toured ‘‘Key Ingredients.”
Frank Evans of Bowie said the exhibit showed a ‘‘basic human experience” and demonstrated the diversity of food across many cultures.
‘‘I think they did a nice job of showing the variety of national cuisine through the photos,” he said.
Although the exhibit has just left, Williams said the museums’ staff is already thinking ahead to future projects.
‘‘We’re already thinking about what we’re going to do next. We have a couple of ideas for the future,” she said.
Williams said she is not sure when the city museums would be eligible for funding for another exhibit, but if an opportunity becomes available, ‘‘we’ll jump in a heartbeat to get it.”
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