Museum on Main Street in Sterling
2024-08-01 - 2024-09-14 | Overland Trail Museum, 110 Overland Trail, Sterling, CO, 80751, United States
Colorado Humanities will tour “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” a Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) exhibit to 10 Colorado communities August 2023 to December 2024. The exhibit takes a broad look at the characteristics of rural America, how an attraction to and interaction with the land formed the basis of rural America, and how these communities and small towns evolve.
The exhibition opens in Sterling at the Overland Trail Museum, 110 Overland Trail, Sterling, CO 80751, on August 5, 2024 and will be on view through September 14, 2024 before moving to the other communities.
About “Crossroads: Change in Rural America”
“Crossroads” explores how rural American communities changed in the 20th century. Currently, most of the United States landscape remains rural with only 3.5% of the landmass considered urban. Since 1900, the percentage of Americans living in rural areas dropped from 60% to 17%. The exhibition looks at that remarkable societal change and how rural Americans responded.
Americans have relied on rural crossroads for generations. These places where people gather to exchange goods, services, culture, and engage in political and community discussions are an important part of our cultural fabric. Despite the massive economic and demographic impacts brought on by these changes, America’s small towns continue to creatively focus on new opportunities for growth and development.

High Plains Chautauqua
2024-08-05 - 2024-08-09 | Aims Community College, 5401 20th St, Greeley, CO, 80634, United States
The High Plains Chautauqua festival will take place August 5-9, 2024. This year’s theme, “Game Changers,” will bring portrayals of notable Americans who have “shaken things up,” each leaving a legacy in his or her field. Featured performers for 2024 High Plains Chautauqua include:

• Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring advanced the global environmental movement.• Steve Jobs, a pioneer in the personal computer revolution.• Albert Einstein, instrumental in reshaping the scientific understanding of nature through modern physics.• Frances Perkins, the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.• Eleanor Roosevelt, who redefined the role of First Lady through her public engagement and advocacy.• Louis Armstrong, one of the most influential figures in jazz who was able to “cross-over” to popularity with white audiences.• Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, who presided over several landmark cases and the Warren Commission, which investigated the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.• Cameo portrayals of female pioneers in medical research including Dr. Florence Sabin, labor union activist Mother Jones, and early pioneer of women’s baseball Maud Nelson, by the ever-popular Legendary Ladies.

For more information, visit coloradohumanities.org.
