University of Wisconsin - Extension

The Wisconsin Humanities Council will bring "Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon," an exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution?s Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), is coming to Wisconsin for a special tour.

The Wisconsin Humanities Council invites museums, libraries and historical societies in communities of around 5,000 or fewer residents to host the exhibition. Six host sites across the state will show the exhibit during its tour from January to October, 2003. The deadline for applying to host a site is April 30.

SITES developed the exhibit especially for rural audiences and small museums that do not ordinarily have access to traveling exhibitions due to space and cost limitations.

"Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon" places the barn in the context of American history and the evolution of American agriculture, says Chuck Law, University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension community planning and design specialist. Law is a member of the Wisconsin site selection committee for the exhibit.

"Many UW-Extension agents throughout the state are working with community groups to serve as a host site. There's still time for others to get involved in this project," Law adds.

Interest in barn preservation in Wisconsin is very high. Law, along with UW-Extension community resource development agents, offers barn preservation workshops throughout the state. The next workshop, the Barn Adaptations and Restorations in Sauk County, will be held in Baraboo May 4-5. More information about the workshop can be obtained at the following Web site:

Sites for the "Barn Again!" exhibit will be selected based on the demonstration of broad community support, the ability and commitment to develop related programming and geographic distribution around the state. Selections will be announced by May 31.

For more information about hosting and applying for a site, contact Dena Wortzel at (608) 262-0706 or e-mail her at whc@danenet.org.