“America's Kitchens,” a traveling exhibition organized by Historic New England, is beginning its national tour in New Hampshire. The exhibition opens at the New Hampshire Historical Society's museum, 6 Eagle Square, on June 11 and runs through Jan. 17, 2010.
“America's Kitchens” showcases the important role of kitchens throughout American history. Based on extensive research, the exhibition features recreated kitchens, artifacts, photographs and the personal stories that bring them to life.
Kitchens tell stories – about families and women's roles; preparing food without running water, electricity, or refrigeration; new technologies, changes in gadgets and appliances and shifts in values and everyday life. The exhibition features vignettes of historic kitchens in colonial New England and 19th-century Illinois, as well as a traditional adobe kitchen in the Southwest, and a 1950s bright blue, “show kitchen.” Through interactive experiences, visitors can learn what it was like to churn butter, share a kitchen memory or jot down a recipe from one of many cookbooks.
Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The museum is also open Mondays, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., from July 1 through Oct. 15 and in December. Admission is $5.50 for adults, $4.50 for seniors, $3 for children 6-18, with a family maximum of $17. Children younger than 6 and members of the New Hampshire Historical Society are admitted free.
Published in conjunction with the exhibition is the new book “America's Kitchens,” by Nancy Carlisle and Melinda Nasardinov, with Jennifer Pustz. The book chronicles what it was like to live and work in kitchens that had none of the conveniences we now take for granted. The book is $34.95, and is available at the museum or at nhhistory.org.
NH Historical Society
