Spark! Places of Innovation

A traveling exhibit by the U.S. Smithsonian Institution, this display is circulated as part of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program and sponsored and toured within the state of South Dakota by the South Dakota Humanities Council. The exhibit celebrates invention, innovation, new ideas, and problem-solving, particularly in small towns across America in social, artistic, technological, and cultural contexts as it illustrates the concept that “all it takes is a spark–an idea—to get started.” The exhibit features stories of daring individuals who have come together to turn community problems into real solutions.  This innovative spirit is crucial to sustaining the vitality of rural places and feeds the nation’s continuous need for fresh thinking and new solutions, but innovation flourishes in some rural places and not others. This exhibit seeks to answer the question, “Why?”