28-05-2025
Museum of the Big Bend selected for Smithsonian traveling exhibit
May 27—The Texas Historical Commission's Heritage Tourism Program has announced that the Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross State University has been selected to host the Smithsonian Institution's Museum on Main Street traveling exhibit in Summer 2026.
Selections are made through a rigorous application process. MOBB partnered with the City of Alpine and Texas Mountain Trail to outline project goals, developments, recent exhibits and innovations, historical connections and how the exhibit will be promoted in the region, a news release said.
The museum is one of just six places selected for the 2026-2027 season, including Experience Atlanta, Texas, the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center in Kerrville, Main Street Taylor, Snyder Chamber of Commerce and Kinney County Post in Brackettville.
The chosen communities will embark on nearly two years of training and preparation for the arrival of the world's largest museum complex in their small towns.
The exhibit, titled "Spark! Places of Innovation," explores the unique combination of people, places and circumstances that sparks innovation and invention in rural communities.
According to the Smithsonian's website, it is "inspired by an exhibition by the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation and features stories gathered from diverse communities across the nation. Photographs, engaging interactives, objects, videos and digital stories bring a multilayered experience to reveal the leaders, challenges, successes and future of innovation in each town."
"Our team at the museum, along with our partners at the City of Alpine and Texas Mountain Trail, is committed to bringing this experience to life in a way that reflects the depth, diversity and vibrancy of our heritage in Far West Texas," Vice President for Advancement and Development John Klingemann said in the release. "We look forward to welcoming visitors from across Texas and beyond as we prepare for this remarkable event. Our sincere thanks to the Smithsonian and the Texas Historical Commission for this opportunity."
Exact tour dates will be announced at a later date.
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