2019-2020 Tour

Water/Ways logo

Thank you to all our partners that made our Maryland tour of Water/Ways amazing!

Photo courtesy Meg Faller.
  • Opening Venue

    May 25, 2019 – July 6, 2019

    The Historical Society of Baltimore County, Cockeysville, MD

    Baltimore County

    With partners Back River Restoration Committee,  Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability, Baltimore County Office of Tourism and Promotion, Cockeysville Public Library, Cromwell Valley Park Council, Ecotone, Fire Museum of Maryland, Gallery Unicorn at Towson Unitarian Universalist Church, Gunpowder Falls State Park, Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, Master Gardener’s program,  Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association, Oregon Ridge Nature Center, Patapsco Valley State Park, and Patapsco Heritage Greenway.

  • Venue 2

    July 13, 2019 – August 24, 2019

    The Oxford Museum, Oxford, MD

    Talbot County

    With partners Oxford Community Center and Oxford Parks and Recreation; and support from the Oxford Garden Club and Oxford Volunteer Fire Company Auxiliary.

  • Venue 3

    August 31, 2019 – October 12, 2019

    Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, MD

    Washington County

    With partners C&O Canal National Historical Park and C&O Canal Trust

  • Venue 4

    October 19, 2019 – November 30, 2019

    Cambridge Main Street, Cambridge, MD

    Dorchester County

    With partners Dorchester Center for the Arts, Dorchester County Department of Tourism, Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area, Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Choptank River Lighthouse, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Cambridge Yacht Club, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, Richardson Maritime Museum, Main Street Gallery, Blackwater Adventures, Dorchester Skipjack Committee, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory, Chesapeake College, Shore Rivers, Dorchester County Historical Society, Hoopers Island Oyster Co., Cambridge Power Boat Racing Association, Dorchester Seafood Heritage Association

  • Venue 5

    December 7, 2019 – January 18, 2020

    Crisfield Heritage Foundation, Crisfield, MD

    Somerset County

    With partners Somerset County Library, The Crisfield Arts & Entertainment Project, Crisfield Chamber of Commerce, and the local Church Community

  • Closing Venue

    January 25, 2020 – March 6, 2020

    Calvert Library, Prince Frederick, MD

    Calvert County

    With partners Calvert Marine Museum, Bayside History Museum, and Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory

About Water/Ways

From above, Earth appears as a water planet with more than 71 percent of its surface covered with this vital resource for life. Water impacts climate, agriculture, transportation, industry and more. It inspires art and music. The newest traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program, Water/Ways, examines water as an environmental necessity and an important cultural element.

All of the water currently on the planet is all that there will ever be. Through the water cycle, it is in endless motion on Earth’s surface, below ground and in the atmosphere. Water/Ways explores this cycle, water’s effect on the landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. It looks at how political and economic planning have long been affected by access to water and control of water resources. Human creativity and resourcefulness provide new ways of protecting water resources and renewing respect for the natural environment.

Designed for small-town museums, libraries, and cultural organizations, Water/Ways will serve as a community meeting place to convene conversations about water’s impact on American culture. With the support and guidance of Maryland Humanities, these towns will develop complementary exhibits, host public programs and facilitate educational initiatives to raise people’s understanding of what water means culturally, socially and spiritually in their own community.

Water/Ways is part of Maryland Humanities’ Maryland H2O. A two-year initiative, Maryland H2O explores our many and varied relationships with water—which is part of our history, our culture, our future—through multiple programs. Maryland H2O also includes the Smithsonian exhibition H2O Today; One Maryland One Book 2019; Chautauqua 2019: Making Waves;and engaging programs to spark a statewide discussion about water.

  • “Although “Fences” are down, the reverberations of our initiative are still resonating. The web of collaboration is clearly active. Many “reached across the fence.” Our community is all the stronger for it. The exhibition boasts the largest attendance of any seven week display on campus with a visitor count of over 1,050. Add to that the rich programming amounting to over 25 events which saw attendance again well over 1,000 participants. What is remarkable is the cross section of interest groups and individuals who attended from the three-county area of southern Maryland and beyond. In essence, the rich mosaic that formed attracted a broad range of people and opened a rare exchange of ideas. We witnessed epiphanies!”

    ​Mary Braun ~ Director of the Boyden Gallery, St. Mary’s College, St. Mary’s City, MD Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “[The Museums on Main Street] project was a win-win for the University and community. It enhanced student learning; they gained the ability to explore divisive topics from multiple angles and viewpoints, developed the skills needed to create engaging visual and audio displays, and cultivated an aptitude for envisioning a tangible project from inception through completion, all the while involving them in the local community.”

    ​Kara Rogers Thomas ~ Frostburg State University faculty, and Board Member at Spruce Forest Artisan Village, Grantsville, MD Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “The Smithsonian exhibit, Key Ingredients: America By Food, has left the building but not the community. We got a glimpse of what we can do and how we can bring the community together around a common goal. From this day forward, the sky is now the limit for DCHS.”

    ​Carol Lacy ~ Dorchester County Historical Society, Cambridge, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “The Smithsonian connection gave us new credibility. We were able to track attendance and we’ve seen a continued rise in weekend activity. Based on increased attendance numbers, we’ve decided to keep the museum open year round. Using our guest book, our gung-ho membership chair was able to double the membership in the Friends organization. This enhanced our treasury by a substantial amount and identified many new volunteers.”

    ​Dorry Norris ~ Washington County Rural Heritage Museum, Boonesboro, MD Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “The project definitely raised the visibility of our organization in western Maryland. Spruce Forest Artisan Village has become a fixture in Garrett County, but it does become taken for granted. This project gave local residents a new reason to make the effort to make a return visit to the Village. Moreover, the programs hosted by the adjacent Penn Alps Restaurant helped us in reaching a new audience.”

    ​Kara Rogers Thomas ~ Frostburg State University faculty, and Board Member at Spruce Forest Artisan Village, Grantsville, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “Across three months of programming, Kent County witnessed an explosion of 39 free public humanities and arts program presented by more than 20 community partners. Hosted by local churches, businesses, storefronts, art galleries, environmental groups and government agencies, these programs included lectures, exhibitions, walking tours, poster contests, book discussions, school field trips and oral history projects. This wide-ranging and grassroots approach to fostering civic dialogue created a moment for the community to pause and reflect – to consider together its diverse work experiences and shared economic histories while also discussing the county’s economic potential and planning policies moving forward.”

    Barbara Foster, Vice President, G.A.R. Post #25 Sumner Hall, Chestertown, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “The opportunity to host the Smithsonian’s “The Way We Worked” exhibition allowed Sumner Hall to develop meaningful companion exhibits that can remain open to the public in the future. Exhibitions across the county were co-curated by community tradition-bearers, scholars, and college students, empowering citizens of diverse backgrounds to work together to tell their own often-untold stories.”

    Barbara Foster, Vice President, G.A.R. Post #25 Sumner Hall, Chestertown, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “It was wonderful for us to be able to facilitate this occurrence for it demonstrated to key community stakeholders the power of our museum as an anchor in an old town that is working to draw people downtown and it demonstrated the value of working together on large initiatives.”

    ​Michael Dixon ~ The Historical Society of Cecil County, Elkton, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “We were very proud to have been chosen to partner with the Maryland Humanities on this exhibit project. Small museums, such as ours…are generally not able to field programs of this scope. Maryland Humanities has truly given us an opportunity to bring a nationally recognized program to the City of Bowie and Prince Georges County and have made it easy to reach and stretch and accomplish something that we’ve never done before on this level in our small museum system. The support of Maryland Humanities both financially and professionally is invaluable to us.”

    Pam Williams ~ Belair Manison, City of Bowie Museums, Bowie, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street​
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