Heritage Farmstead Museum of Plano recently opened a new exhibit in the museum’s Farrell-Wilson house themed “Down But Not Out,” which offers a look at Blackland Prairie life during the Great Depression.
The new exhibit seeks to enhance the visitor experience through an immersive, multi-sensory approach that includes interactive presentations. “Down But Not Out” features different scents in many of the rooms in the Farrell-Wilson Home, such as baby powder in the nursery, fresh baked bread in the kitchen, buttered popcorn in the movie theater room and more. The exhibit also includes “touch baskets” in many of the rooms, era-appropriate music and videos, talking mannequins, an interpretive 1930’s movie theater with simulated concession stand, and an interactive radio show kiosk.
“We wanted to evoke memories and make memories,” explained Heritage Farmstead Museum Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Patty Shore (pictured above) in a press release. “Our focus is not on the doom and gloom of the Depression, but on the hopefulness and helpfulness of people during that time. The people living during that time were so resourceful.”
The exhibit will be on display through May 2018.
Heritage Farmstead Museum is located at 1900 West 15th Street in Plano. General admission is $3 per person. Docent-guided house tours are $7 per person (includes general admission), $5 for students and children, and free for children four and under and museum members. Grounds are open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. for self-guided tours. Docent-guided house tours are available Tuesday through Sunday at 1:30 p.m. each day.
ABOUT THE HERITAGE FARMSTEAD MUSEUM
The Heritage Farmstead Museum, a four-acre historic site consisting of a restored, 14-room 1891 Victorian farmhouse with its original outbuildings, interprets rural life on the North Texas prairie between 1890 and 1925. The museum provides tours, field trips and programs for 35,000 visitors each year. For more information, call 972.881.0140 or visit www.heritagefarmstead.org.
