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Call for Applications:

Host a Smithsonian Exhibit in YOUR Community!

Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America

Humanities Washington invites museums, libraries, historical societies and cultural institutions to apply to host Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America.Traveling exhibitions are a terrific way to connect with new partners, audiences and instill a sense of pride in your community that the Smithsonian is coming to YOUR town!

Exhibit Summary

The Smithsonian’sHometown Teamstraveling exhibition examines the many roles that sports play in American society. Hometown sports are more than just games—they shape our lives and unite us and celebrate who we are as Americans. We play on ball fields and sandlots, on courts and on ice, in parks and playgrounds, even in the street. From pick-up games to organized leagues, millions of Americans of all ages play sports. And, if we’re not playing sports, we’re watching them. We sit in the stands and root for the local high school team, or gather on the sidelines and cheer on our sons and daughters as they take their first swing or score their first goal.

Thanks to our never-ending appetite for competition and games, Americans now have a wider selection of sports to play and watch than ever before. Football, baseball, and basketball—America’s traditional hometown sports—share space on our calendars with soccer, hockey, tennis, running, wrestling, skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, sailing, and many other sports. What has occurred in our hometowns is nothing less than a sports revolution.

Featured Themes:

The Home Team, our American Spirit and at Every Age
Sports play a big part in the lives of many Americans. They leave an indelible mark on us all, whether we play or watch. The essential qualities of sports—competition, fair play, and the zeal to win—embody the American spirit. No part of American culture so colorfully and passionately celebrates American life as does sports.

Sports and Commerce

Sports are an American obsession. We play to stay in shape, to quench our thirst to compete, and to have fun. We watch sports and connect to our favorite teams. When they win, we win. When they lose, we share in their defeat.

Sports and Culture

Sports have also penetrated art, literature, and film. The dynamism of sports—the excitement of a game, the grace of an athlete’s performance, and the drama that occurs with the triumph of victory and the agony of defeat — inspires artists, authors and filmmakers. Classic films, such as Hoosiers and Field of Dreams, are, for many fans, as significant a part of our national sports memory as famous sporting events.

Equality in Sports

Although sports have always been a part of American culture, equality in sports, as in society itself, was not easy to come by. African Americans and women, in particular, struggled to gain the same athletic opportunities enjoyed by white males. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, paving the way for other African American ballplayers to realize their dream of playing in the major leagues.

The Future of Sports

Whether we enjoy traditional sports or develop new ones that reflect our cultural and athletic diversity, the thrill of competition and the drive to win are stronger than ever before. Athletes will continue to view sports as a means to achieve their goals and pursue them throughout their lives. Fans and spectators will never let their teams down, cheering and supporting their favorites from the start of the game to the finish.

Pertinent Details:

  • Tour dates: March 2019-January 2020

~Venue 1:3/16 – 4/28 (committed)

~Venue 2:5/4 – 6/16

~Venue 3:6/22 – 8/4

~Venue 4:8/10 – 9/22

~Venue 5:9/28 – 11/10

~Venue 6:11/16 – 1/5

  • Exhibit size:
  • Exhibit slots available: 6
  • Length of exhibit slots: 6 weeks (including set up and tear down)
  • Size of exhibit (not including local exhibit):
  • Other special site requirements:

~the exhibit must be placed in a defined, enclosed, interior spaces (gallery, lounges or other similar areas are allowed, hallways, corridors or other passageways are now allowed).

~The exhibit must be within view of a supervisor during public hours

~The exhibit must displayed in an area where there is no direct sunlight and at a temperature of less than 80 degrees at all times.

Partner Responsibilities

Humanities Washington and SITES will provide the following for each host community:

  • Promotional materials, including posters.
  • Insurance and shipping for the exhibition.
  • Access to a scholar to act as an advisor on exhibit and program content.
  • Access to a resource center for exhibition guides, lesson plans, scavenger hunts, reading lists, docent handbooks, and more.
  • Exhibit support materials covering installation, public relations, evaluation, and developing local exhibitions and public programs.

Host communities will be required to:

  • Identify a staff person or volunteer who will serve as the director of the project
    for its duration.
  • Plan and develop a local exhibit in conjunction with Hometown Teams.
  • Plan and implement a minimum of three public programs/events.
  • Track all staff and volunteer time, facilities, and other resources donated to the project.
  • Complete an evaluation within three weeks of the completion of the exhibition.

Site Selection

Sites will be chosen based on geographic diversity, physical display space and strength of proposed ideas for public programs and an accompanying local exhibition. Priority will be given to applicants from rural areas.

Application Procedures

Application materials for Hometown Teams can be found at the Humanities Washington website at Completed forms may be sent to with “Hometown Teams Site Application <your organization name here>” in the subject line. In order to be considered, applications must be emailed by 5:00pm April 15, 2018. Selections will be announced by May 1, 2018.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Julie Ziegler, Executive Director at (206) 682-1770 x110 or .

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