The Maine Humanities Council will present
Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon

From the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

April 7, 2005-October 22, 2005

April 7 - June 8, 2005 The Saco Museum 371 Main Street, Saco, ME 04072 207-282-3031 www.sacomuseum.org Hours: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 12:00 - 4:00 PM Thursday 12:00 - 8:00 pm June 15 - August 12, 2005 Musée culturel du Mont-Carmel U.S. Route 1, Lille, ME 04746 207-895-3339 Hours: Sunday - Friday 12:00 - 4:00 pm August 19 - October 22, 2005 Bethel Historical Society 10-14 Broad Street, Bethel, ME 04217 207-824-2908 or 800-824-2910 www.bethelhistorical.org Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10:00 AM - 12:00 & 1:00 - 4:00 pm Saturday & Sunday 1:00 - 4:00 pm

Barns — they are so much a part of the New England landscape that we sometimes take them for granted. Barns remind us of our rural past when a majority of the population lived on farms, but they are also reminders of today's farmers and their continual struggle to live off the land. And yet what do we really know about barns? What can they tell us about our cultural history? Age and development are swallowing up many barns in Maine. How can they be saved?

Starting in the spring of 2005, the Maine Humanities Council will answer those questions and more by bringing the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon to three locations in Maine.

This is a wonderful exhibit for the whole family that will trace the history of farming and the unique place barns hold within our culture. You can learn about the wide variety of barn styles, explore life on a Maine farm as your grandparents knew it, or find out about resources for preservation. The exhibit features an architectural scale model of an English barn; examples of games, toys, and period advertising; and historic images of barns in Maine and across the country. Each site will offer special activities in the local area — contact exhibit sites directly for more information.

Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon is made possible in Maine by the Maine Humanities Council. Barn Again! is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Federation of State Humanities Councils. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and The Hearst Foundation. Additional funding for Barn Again! has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution Special Exhibition Fund, and the Smithsonian Educational Outreach Fund, along with assistance from the National Building Museum and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Barn Again! is a registered trademark owned by the Meredith Corporation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Images of historic barns in Bethel, Maine provided by the Bethel Historial Society