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Dr. Cremin consults with local organizations hosting traveling Smithsonian sports exhibit

Mallory Laurel of the Illinois Humanities
Council at the Chicago History Museum and
Dr. Dennis Cremin.

It is an exciting time for sports in America. Major League Baseball is heading towards the playoffs. On all levels, athletes are gearing up for the football, basketball, and other athletic competitions. Behind all these teams are their communities and supporters, which is at the center of the Smithsonian Institution’s new travelling exhibit, Hometown Teams.

In Illinois, Dennis Cremin, professor of at Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå University, has been consulting with local organizations across the state who are hosting the “Hometown Teams: Sports in American Communities” exhibit of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street (MOMS) program.

"Beyond the spectacular new Smithsonian exhibit, the companion displays in the local communities are a central component of this program," said Cremin. "These Illinois towns hold the local stories, and they are able to put them on display for their communities. Just as I teach my students at Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå University about the elements of Museum Studies, I consult with these outstanding local organizations.” In Illinois, the MOMS program is administered by the Illinois Humanities Council, and the communities apply to host the travelling Smithsonian created exhibit.

Hometown Teams features sports as a way to get to the core of American experience. In a time when many towns across Illinois experiences decrease in population and significant changes in their racial and ethnic makeup, the community's culture and pride is often most evident in the support of their local teams. This is one area where everyone can celebrate their past and look towards the future. The local exhibits features some famous athletes, but the emphasis is really on the competitions that played out between schools or community organizations. The Smithsonian exhibit focuses on the nation, but it is on the local and regional level that many diverse stories come to life.

Hometown Teams is part of the Museum on Main Street program, a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The exhibits travel to small to medium-sized communities, which brings Smithsonian-quality exhibitions to local museums, libraries and other organizations around the state.

Hometown Teams visits:

• Sept. 13-Oct. 26: Rock Island Public Library in Rock Island


• Nov. 1-Dec. 14: Friends of Hancock County in Carthage

For additional information about Hometown Teams, visit the Illinois Humanities Council’s website at .

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