The Water/Ways Exhibition Grand Opening and Reception At The Jefferson Co Public Library

A traveling Smithsonian exhibition.

On Saturday, January 8, the Jefferson County Public Library will be opening its doors to the public to experience Water/Ways, a traveling Smithsonian exhibition. The exhibit will be held in the Madison Public Library’s Auditorium with a grand opening from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Director Judi Terpening will be leading the welcome at 11:00 a.m., a reception with food and entertainment. An open house with refreshments until 3:00 p.m. will follow.

"We are thrilled to host the Water/Ways exhibit! Months of preparation and hard work by library staff, particularly Programming Coordinator Ann Inman, have made opening day possible.” Says Director Judi Terpening, “We are grateful to Indiana Humanities and the Smithsonian Institute for this opportunity to showcase our world's most important resource. We hope that every visitor will enjoy the experience.”

The grand opening will be the first of the many exciting attractions that the Madison Public Library will be hosting as part of the Water/Ways exhibit. The program, available from January 8 through February 20, is an interactive exhibit created by the Smithsonian Institution to highlight the role water plays in our daily lives and how it affects the local community. Water/Ways explores the endless motion of the water cycle, water’s effect on landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. It looks at how political and economic planning have long been affected by access to water and control of water resources, and how human creativity and resourcefulness provide new ways of protecting water resources and renewing respect for the natural environment. Designed for small-town museums, libraries and cultural organizations, Water/Ways serves as a community meeting place to hold conversations about water’s impact on American culture. It is meant for everyone in the Jefferson County area and beyond.

It will be open every day for the two months it is in Madison, and will even be open on Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The exhibition will also be open on January 17, Martin Luther King Jr Day, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. These open days are to ensure that each patron in the Jefferson County area and beyond are able to witness the engaging exhibition.

The Smithsonian Water/Ways exhibit is famous for not only being an open door to the scientific nature of water, but also as a fun approach to the most important element on Earth. The exhibit reveals the central nature of water in our lives by exploring its usage, how it affects our lives, how we care for it, and what story each of us can tell. The exhibit has traveled around most of America, as well as other parts of the country, and has touched the lives of many patrons.

Water/Ways explores the endless motion of the water cycle, water’s effect on landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. It looks at how political and economic planning

have long been affected by access to water and control of water resources, and how human creativity and resourcefulness provide new ways of protecting water resources and renewing respect for the natural environment. Designed for small-town museums, libraries and cultural organizations, Water/Ways serves as a community meeting place to hold conversations about water’s impact on American culture.

The program is sponsored in part by the Indiana Humanities’ Water/Ways Program, with support from the Smithsonian Museum, Museum on Main Street, Indiana American Water, and Discover Indiana.

About Jefferson County Public Library Jefferson County Public Library was founded in 1818 and serves the community with opportunities to obtain and use information in a variety of formats, to pursue lifelong learning, to explore recreational interests, and to better understand personal and regional heritage. In addition to books and movies, the library offers community meeting spaces, cultural and educational programs, entertainment, one-on-one computer assistance, outreach services to homebound and children, genealogy and local history research assistance, early literacy programs and reading and viewing suggestions. Libraries are located in Madison and Hanover, Indiana.

About Indiana Humanities

Indiana Humanities connects people, opens minds and enriches lives by creating and facilitating programs that encourage Hoosiers to think, read and talk. Learn more at indianahumanities.org.

About Water/Ways

The Smithsonian’s Water/Ways exhibition dives into water—an essential component of life on our planet, environmentally, culturally, and historically. Water/Ways is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress. Water/Ways was adapted from an exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org), and the Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul (www.smm.org), in collaboration with Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland; The Field Museum, Chicago; Instituto Sangari, Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Museum of Australia, Canberra; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; San Diego Natural History Museum; and Science Centre Singapore with PUB Singapore. Learn more about exhibit content at https://museumonmainstreet.org/content/waterways.

About Museum on Main Street

Museum on Main Street is a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about Water/Ways and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org.

About Indiana American Water Indiana American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned

water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.32 million people. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.