Thomson (population 550) and Savanna (population 3,000), are located along the Mississippi River in Carroll County in northwestern Illinois’s scenic Driftless Area roughly 20 minutes from Galena, 1.5 hours from Rockford and three hours from Chicago. In addition to viewing Voices and Votes and the Illinois Freedom Project exhibition, participants will have opportunities to peruse the Savanna Museum and Cultural Center’s companion exhibition discussing democracy-related issues that arose early in Carroll County’s history, as well as the museum’s permanent exhibitions, which include a large, impressively detailed model railroad patterned after Savanna-area railroads in the 1950s and an extensive collection of Civil War uniforms and memorabilia.

• Participation will be limited to 25 guests
• Registration is first come first served
• We will ask guests to social distance and wear masks during the exhibition tours and group discussions. All guests will be expected to follow the Illinois Humanities Field Trip policy
• If, after registering you are unable to participate, we ask that you let Karen Loda, karen.loda@ilhumanities.org know so that we can make your spot available to someone else
• Participants are responsible for their own transportation
• Box lunches (and a reusable water bottle) are available upon request

For the health and safety of all participants Illinois Humanities will require proof of vaccination to participate in this in-person event. Acceptable proof of vaccination includes a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card, an official immunization record from the location where the vaccine was administered or a digital or physical photo of such a card or record, reflecting your name, vaccine brand and date the vaccine was administered. Attendees will be required to show this documentation upon check-in at the event. Please do not send this information in advance. Attendees will be required to wear masks at all times when not eating or drinking. Must be age 12 or older to attend.

Individuals who are unable to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination because of a disability (as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act) may request a reasonable accommodation. In such instances, Illinois Humanities will have a discussion with you to see if a reasonable accommodation is possible that would not create an undue hardship on the organization or pose a direct threat to the health and safety of other event attendees.

By participating in this field trip, attendees agree to comply with requirements to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and acknowledge that Illinois Humanities cannot guarantee attendees will not become infected with COVID-19 as a result of attending the event. For any questions regarding this policy please email karen.loda@ilhumanities.org.

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, the newest Museum on Main Street exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, addresses questions stemming from our national founders’ profound decision to entrust the governance of the United States not to a monarchy, but to its citizens: Who has the right to vote? What are the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens? Whose voices will be heard?

Using historical and contemporary photographs, videos, interactive multimedia components, and artifacts, the exhibition examines the following themes:

• “The Great Leap’ – the origins of America’s democratic system
• “A Vote, A Voice” – the expansion of the right to vote and challenges related to it, past and present
• “The Machinery of Democracy” – the institutions and systems that facilitate participation in the electoral process
• “Beyond the Ballot” – civic participation, advocacy, and activism beyond the electoral process
• “Creating Citizens” – perspectives on the rights and duties of citizens and their influence upon our complex national identity.

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The Illinois Freedom Project exhibition, which is touring the state in conjunction with Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, discusses the pursuit of civil rights by and for African Americans in Illinois. An outgrowth of an educational program that engages young people with African American history in Illinois, the Illinois Freedom Project exhibition traces Black Illinoisans’ struggles for liberty and equality from the French Colonial era to early-20th-century Chicago.

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Museum on Main Street, conducted cooperatively with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and state humanities councils, offers rural and small-town Americans opportunities to view Smithsonian-produced exhibitions in their own communities. It also enables the local cultural organizations that host those exhibitions to enhance their capacities in a variety of ways.

Periodically, Illinois Humanities facilitates a statewide tour of a Smithsonian-created traveling exhibition on a significant theme in American culture. Illinois Humanities invites organizations in small communities to apply to host the exhibition. Six are selected to do so. Each host organization displays the exhibition for several weeks. It also produces public programs and a locally focused companion exhibition relating the subject matter of the Smithsonian-produced exhibition to the history and culture of its own community or region.

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