The traveling Smithsonian Museum on Main “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America” exhibition will leave Jennings in two weeks.
The free exhibition is open to the public 10.00-16.00. Monday-Saturday through August 6 at Jeff Davis Arts and Technology Center, 137 N. Main St., across from Jennings City Hall and Zigler Art Museum.
Visitors and the community are invited to see the exhibit, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program, one last time before it leaves, according to Zigler Art Museum Director Tesha Oneillion.
“This exhibition has been very successful this summer,” said Oneillion. “I am amazed at the number of people who come every day to see the exhibition and the wide range of individuals who have visited it. We have had people bring their children and grandchildren to see it and young people who have just want to see.
Visitors from across Louisiana, Texas and Arizona visited the exhibit while it was on display.
Oneillion believes the exhibit was a hit because it highlighted a prevalent issue in the United States.
“It’s something people are thinking about now and I think they’re interested in it because it’s a Smithsonian exhibit,” she said.
Oneillion hopes that people will leave inspired to vote and with the knowledge of how to use their voice to make changes.
“I personally learned a lot that I didn’t know, like what the Registrar of Voters Office does or how votes are counted and cast,” she said.
“The exhibit is a really good journey through American history from the time the Constitution was written to today and how people used their voice and fought to vote,” Oneillion said.
The exhibit also includes a commemorative plaque from George Washington’s farewell address and an oil reservoir from a political parade torch from the 1800s.
Other election memorabilia and campaign souvenirs include old protest posters, old campaign buttons, old magazine covers, historical photos and party symbols.
Panels, kiosks and videos also display information about the creation of the Constitution, the electoral process from 1789 to the present, including paper ballots, the Electoral College, lobbying, petitioning, campaigning and diversity.
As part of the exhibition, the museum organized special programs with guest speakers and group discussions.
On August 4, from 4-6 p.m., Dr. Martha S. Jones.
A limited number of the books are available at the Zigler Art Museum. Attendees can also check out the book from area libraries or purchase their own copy online or at area bookstores.
The exhibition is made possible through a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
