Current Exhibitions
Natural Splendor: Artwork from Ottawa County Outdoor Art
Opens Saturday Feb. 24, 2024. Closes Sunday Aug. 11, 2024
Small Gallery
This exhibition is a partnership between the Museum and the members of Ottawa County Outdoor Art, a local en plein air art group. The works featured in this exhibition are all from Ottawa County and encompass a variety of media including acrylic, oil, graphite, and photography.
We are not accepting any additional submissions or loans for this exhibition.
Art from the Permanent Collection
Opens Friday Mar. 8, 2024. Closes Sunday Jan. 5, 2025
Mezzanine
This is a small exhibition/display of artwork from the permanent collection in the mezzanine. The artwork on display for this show will be portraits of women and girls from the mid-19th to early 20th Centuries. Each painting will have a tombstone label with a brief description of who the subject is and any interesting highlights about her clothing as depicted in the work.
We are not accepting any loans for this exhibition.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Classroom Curators - Spring Lake Intermediate School
Opens Tuesday Mar. 19, 2024. Closes Sunday Mar. 24, 2024
Centennial Hall
This exhibition is a partnership between the Museum and the 5th grade classes at Spring Lake Intermediate School. The students will be creating a variety of displays related to their curriculum, which will be on display in Centennial Hall for the week from Mar. 19-24.
We are not accepting any additional submissions or loans for this exhibition.
Picnics and Parades: 100 Years of the Coast Guard Festival
Opens Saturday May 18, 2024. Closes Sunday Sept. 22, 2024
Centennial Hall
August 4, 2024 marks 100 years since the first Coast Guard Festival was (almost) held in Grand Haven. It started as a small picnic for Coasties and their families to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the Coast Guard in 1790. From those humble beginnings, it has become a massive festival encompassing several days and a multitude of events. This exhibition explores the history of the festival and how it came to be the event it is today. Highlighted topics include the early years of the picnic, the transition from picnic to festival, the effects of WWII and the sinking of the USCGC Escanaba, the festival’s postwar growth, and the importance of memorialization to the festival.
We are accepting loans for this exhibit. We cannot guarantee that artifacts/photographs offered will be exhibited. Anyone interested in lending an artifact or photograph to the exhibit should contact Kate Crosby before March 29, 2024. Loan offers after March 29th are appreciated but cannot be accommodated.
Ship Shape Sisters: The Women of the Coast Guard SPARS
Opens Saturday Aug. 23, 2024. Closes Sunday Feb. 9, 2025
Small Gallery
The Coast Guard Women’s Reserve was established on November 23, 1942 and was the first time women were formally accepted into active service in the Coast Guard. The Reserve was more popularly known as the SPARS, which came from the first letters of each word in the Coast Guard’s Latin motto “Semper Paratus,” and its English translation “Always Ready.” This exhibition will provide a historical overview and explore the role of gender in the experience of enlisted servicemembers. The exhibit will explore the idealized experience, promoted by recruitment efforts, the personal experience via the stories of a select group of specific SPARS, and the various ways in which the SPARS organization is memorialized.
We are accepting loans for this exhibit. We cannot guarantee that artifacts/photographs offered will be exhibited. Anyone interested in lending an artifact or photograph to the exhibit should contact Joshua Simon before April 12, 2024. Loan offers after April 12th are appreciated but cannot be accommodated.
The museum has three different rotating exhibition spaces, in addition to our permanent installations on the first and third floors. These spaces are Centennial Hall, the Small Gallery, and the Mezzanine. Centennial Hall hosts a summer blockbuster exhibit from May to late September each year, and the other two spaces have exhibitions scheduled throughout the year. Above, you can find our upcoming exhibits schedule for all of these spaces. If you have any questions, please contact Exhibits Curator Kate Crosby at kcrosby@tchmuseum.org.
The Tri-Cities Historical Museum looks forward to presenting the exhibits listed above in the near future. If you have an idea or request for a special exhibit subject, please let us know by completing an exhibition proposal form PDF and emailing it to kcrosby@tchmuseum.org.
Share your story with an Oral History Interview!
The Tri-Cities Historical Museum wants to collect and share your story! Oral histories allow the museum to gather historical information that might not otherwise appear in the collection, particularly from underrepresented groups. If you are interested in sharing your story with the museum, click the button or scan the QR code below to fill out an oral history contact form. A museum staff member will then be in touch to schedule an oral history interview. If you have any questions, please email Exhibits Curator Kate Crosby at kcrosby@tchmuseum.org.
