CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Humanities Council is sponsoring a special West Virginia tour of the new Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition The Way We Worked beginning September 2011 through June 2012.

The council invites applications from small museums, historical societies, historic sites, cultural organizations and communities interested in hosting the exhibition and providing public programs for children and adults. There is no charge for selected venues to participate in the tour and program funds will be provided to each site by the council. The postmark deadline for applications is Dec. 1.

The Way We Worked explores how work became a central element of American culture by tracing the many changes that affected the workforce and work environment and consists of five free-standing sections with video, audio, interactive components, photographs and artifacts mounted in cases. It requires 650 square feet of floor space plus additional space for local exhibitions and programs. It is available only through the West Virginia Humanities Council.

Host communities will receive Humanities Council funds to develop companion displays and supplemental programs that focus on the history of local businesses, industries, agricultural work, work at home and other relevant occupations.

Interested venues should contact Humanities Council Program Officer Mark Payne at 304-346-8500 or payne@wvhumanities.org to request an application. The six selected sites will be announced in January 2011. Each site will display the exhibition for six weeks. In addition to program funds, technical assistance and resources to support planning and promotion will be provided to each community.

The Way We Worked tour is made possible through the Museum on Main Street (MOMS) program, an alliance of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the Federation of State Humanities Councils, state humanities councils across the country and cultural organizations in small, rural communities.