BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The public is invited to visit the traveling Smithsonian exhibit “Spark! Places of Innovation” at the Rockingham Free Public Library, starting on June 13. All are also welcome to attend the “Spark!” open house on June 27.
“Spark! Places of Innovation” explores the combination of places, people, and circumstances that spark innovation and invention in rural communities. Inspired by an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, the exhibition features stories gathered from diverse communities across the nation. Photographs, engaging interactives, objects, videos, and digital stories bring a multilayered experience to reveal the leaders, challenges, successes, and future of innovation in each town. Technical, social, cultural, or artistic – every sort of innovation story is as unique as each community and will be represented in ”Spark! Places of Innovation.”
Vermont Humanities has partnered with New Hampshire Humanities and the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program to bring “Spark! Places of Innovation,” to small towns in Vermont and New Hampshire from 2026-2027. Each state will support three host sites, and each location will host the exhibit for six weeks, starting in Bellows Falls. The Bellows Falls exhibit is a collaboration between the Rockingham Free Public Library and the Rockingham Arts & Museum Project.
The exhibition will be on display at the Rockingham Free Public Library in Bellows Falls, from June 13-July 26. The exhibit will be open to the public during the following hours: Monday-Friday, from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; and Sunday, from 12-4 p.m.
All are welcome to attend the “Spark!” open house at the Rockingham Free Public Library, on Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Enjoy “Spark!,” meet new and old neighbors, fill your plate with sweet treats, and spend time enjoying this amazing exhibition and seeing what innovative new ideas it might spark.
For more information about “Spark!” and other programs, call 802-463-4270, visit www.rockinghamlibrary.org, or stop by the library at 65 Westminster Street, Bellows Falls, Vt.