Museum on Main Street
The Smithsonian is Coming to Florida!
Museum on Main Street is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and Florida Humanities to bring traveling exhibitions and engaging public programs to small towns across our state. With its impassioned focus on local history, education and community redevelopment, Museum on Main Street is one of the Smithsonian’s most inspirational and enduring outreach programs.
Since 2012, Florida Humanities has provided funding for more than 57 exhibition tours in 33 counties, allowing nearly 200,000 Floridians to experience a Smithsonian Institution exhibition in their own hometown.
Join Florida Humanities in supporting the Water/Ways Museum on Main Street exhibit. For sponsorship information please contact, Patricia Putman, Interim Director, at [email protected].
Our next Museum on Main Street funding opportunity will be in 2023.
Current Grantees
Looking for grantee forms and resources? Click here to access Event Listing Forms, Contract Change Request Forms, instructions on how to fill out the Final Report, and more!
Touring Florida June 2021 - September 2022
The Smithsonian’s Water/Ways exhibition dives into water–an essential component of life on our planet, environmentally, culturally, and historically.
In societies across the globe, water serves as a source of peace and contemplation. Many faiths revere water as a sacred symbol. Authors and artists are inspired by the complex character of water – a substance that is seemingly soft and graceful that is yet a powerful and nearly unstoppable force.
Water also plays a practical role in American society. The availability of water affected settlement and migration patterns. Access to water and control of water resources have long been a central part of political and economic planning. Human creativity and resourcefulness provide new ways of protecting water resources and renewing respect for the natural environment.
Exhibition Tour Dates
“And what can I say about the communities that host our exhibitions? Unbelievable, truly. We’re so humbled by the sense of teamwork, volunteerism, and local pride that comes to fruition at small museums, libraries and community centers. The American spirit is alive and thriving in these towns, and we are honored to inspire it.”
—Carol Harsh, Director, Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street program
“And what can I say about the communities that host our exhibitions? Unbelievable, truly. We’re so humbled by the sense of teamwork, volunteerism, and local pride that comes to fruition at small museums, libraries and community centers. The American spirit is alive and thriving in these towns, and we are honored to inspire it.”
—Carol Harsh, Director, Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street program
Museum on Main Street Creating Impact in Florida 2012-2021
