News – Sheridan Media
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On April 10, Sheridan’s Museum at the Bighorns announced that The Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program, in cooperation with Wyoming State Museum will present “Voices and Votes: Democracy in American.”
The exhibition examines the nearly 250-year-old American experiment of a government “of, by and for the people,” and how each generation since continues to question how to form “a more perfect union.”
The event will open at the Museum at the Bighorns on April 18, and will run through June 13.
“‘Voice and Votes’ allows us to reflect on Sheridan’s history and explore what it means to be an active participant in the governance of not only the country but also this community,” said Carrie Ida Edinger, Museum Director. “We want to convene conversations about and have developed local exhibitions and public programs to complement the Smithsonian exhibition.”
There will be several free events connected with the exhibit to be held at the Museum at the Bighorns.
The first event will be Museum Family Day on Saturday, April 18, 2026 from 10:00am – noon. There will be hands-on activities including voting for your favorite American Food, design your own “I Voted Button,” Voices & Votes exhibit scavenger hunt and you can pick up your Equality State coloring book.
Museum Family Day is free and generously supported by the Perkins Family Foundation.
There will a program on Saturday, May 16 from 10 a.m. to 11, titled, Fifty-One Years of Freedom: Wyoming’s Suffrage Story, 1869 – 1920, with Kylie McCormick, historian.
In 1869 Wyoming made history as the first U.S. territory to give women the right to vote. Fifty-one year later, the nation followed Wyoming’s lead. A fresh take on a longstanding controversy, this presentation offers critical new evidence to Wyoming’s suffrage story and restores the contributions to the movement made by both Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard and Esther Hobart Morris.
On May 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., there will be a program titled Machinery of Democracy, which will explore the history of campaigning and votes, and how politicians invented a unique American System of electing representatives. This program will engage Sheridan County’s local politicians with an interview format hosted by Sheridan High Schools We the People: The Citizen and Constitution Program. Discussions will center on local government structures, campaigning, and the voting process.
“Voices and Votes” explores the action, reaction, vision and revision that democracy demands as Americans continue to question how to shape the country. From the revolution and suffrage, to civil rights and casting ballots, everyone in every community is part of this ever-evolving story—the story of democracy in America.
Exhibition sections explore the origins of American democracy, the struggles to obtain and keep the vote, the machinery of democracy, the right to petition and protest beyond the ballot and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. “Voices and Votes” features historical and contemporary photos; educational and archival video; engaging multimedia interactives with short games; and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest material.
Designed for small-town museums, libraries and cultural organizations, “Voices and Votes” will serve as a community meeting place for conversations about democracy, the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens, participating in government, and more.
With the support and guidance of state humanities councils, these towns will develop complementary exhibits, host public programs and facilitate educational initiatives to raise people’s understanding about their own history, the joys and challenges of living rural, how change has impacted their community, and prompt discussion of goals for the future.
“Voices and Votes” is based on an exhibition currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History called American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith.
The exhibitionis part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about “Voices” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit museumonmainstreet.org.
Support for MoMShas been provided by the U.S. Congress and the Wyoming 250 Grant.
SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For exhibition description and tour schedules, visit sites.si.edu.
Museum Hours starting April 20 will be Mon – Sat 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Admission is $10.00 Adult, $5.00 Seniors, Students, Children and Children under 5 years old are free.
For further information contact Museum at the Bighorns, 171 N. Main Street, Sheridan, 307-675-1150, or go to the website, https://museumbighorns.org
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Last modified: April 12, 2026