‘Journey Stories’ Exhibition on Display at UW’s Coe Library

An educational Smithsonian poster exhibition that explores how movement has impacted America is now on display at the University of Wyoming’s Coe Library.

“Journey Stories,” located on the main level of Coe Library across from the Student Innovation Center, will be available to view through Friday, April 19.

The exhibition highlights how human movement shaped the nation’s demographics and cultural diversity. According to the Smithsonian website, the exhibition “takes a broad look at American expansion and migration, from the earliest European settlers and Native American displacement, to the effects of transportation advancements on modern mobility.”

“Each of us has a personal journey story, but we also are part of our family’s journey story and the even more expansive story of our cultural communities,” says Andrea Hastings, library specialist for UW Libraries’ Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections. “This exhibition introduces some of the major events that prompted the various movements of our ancestors and formed the nation of which we are a part today.”

“Journey Stories” is composed of seven posters that feature important chapters, such as Western expansion and Native American displacement, African American migration from the deep South and important developments in transportation technology.

Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, in collaboration with Teaching Tolerance, “Journey Stories” is designed to encourage engagement and dialogue in classrooms and communities about the impact of movement in America. The organization encourages others to share their stories through the Stories from Main Street project.

On the Museum on Main Street website, readers can find thousands of stories from people throughout the country. For more information or to share a personal story, go to https://museumonmainstreet.org.