[Michlib-l] Alpena County Library hosting Spark! Places of Innovation Exhibit

[Jessica Luther]

Through a highly competitive application process, the Alpena County George
N. Fletcher Public Library was selected as a host site for the newest
Smithsonian Museum on Main Street's national traveling exhibit, Spark!
Places of Innovation. Facilitated jointly by Michigan Humanities and the
Smithsonian Museum, the exhibit will begin its tour of Michigan in Alpena
on May 20, 2023, and will be on display through July 1st.

Spark! Places of Innovation explores the unique combination of places,
people, and circumstances that sparks innovation and invention in rural
communities. Inspired by an exhibition by the National Museum of American
History, the exhibition features stories gathered from diverse communities
across the nation. Photographs, engaging interactives, objects, videos, and
augmented reality bring a multilayered experience to reveal the leaders,
challenges, successes, and future of innovation in each town. People in
small towns are revitalizing old neighborhoods, rejuvenating historic
districts, establishing local industries, creating new festivals and
cultural attractions, and much more. They are discovering the hidden
potential in their places—often in local or regional history, sometimes in
contemporary change such as new industry or demographic shifts, and always
in the hearts of their people—and generating ideas that bring that
potential to life. These small towns have big ideas for creating a better
today and a more hopeful tomorrow.

As part of the project, the Library will be creating its own traveling
exhibit highlighting the innovation and creativity of the Alpena community
throughout history and how that innovation impacted the region.

A kick-off celebration and ribbon cutting will be held on May 20th
beginning at 9:00 am. Activities will include a maker fair featuring local
artisans and creators, games, an open MakerLab, and presentations with
historians. A detailed schedule is listed below.

The team at the Library has put together a variety of programs to
complement the exhibit throughout the summer illustrating the different
ways small towns inspire innovation. Led by Tina Markowski in the Adult
Service Department, the project has been a wonderful way for different
departments to collaborate on developing programs for the community. She
worked with Nancy Mousseau in the IT and MakerLab departments and Don La
Barre of Special Collections to put together an impressive slate of
activities.

The schedule of activities for the kickoff celebration is as follows:

9:30 am- Welcome from Jennifer Rupp, President and CEO of Michigan
Humanities, and Tina Markowski, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public
Library

9:40 am- Exhibition Ribbon Cutting

10 am-3 pm- Maker Fair and open MakerLab

11 am- Inventing Economies of Speed: How Steam Engines Changed the World, State
Historian Thomas Henthorn

1 pm- The Alpena Cement Industry - Sparking Innovation on Thunder Bay's
shores for over 100 Years, Author Stephen Tongue

For more information about the exhibit and activities, visit the Library’s
website www.alpenalibrary.org.

Spark: Places of Innovation has been made possible by Michigan Humanities,
an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Spark: Places of
Innovation is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the
Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils across the country.
Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States
Congress.


*Jessica Luther (she/her) *
Interim Director *Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library* 211 N.
First Ave. Alpena, MI 49707 jluther at alpenalibrary.org 989.419.4236
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