Lewis And Clark Bicentennial Inspires Traveling Exhibit

The opening of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial earlier this month highlights cooperation among two dozen federal departments and agencies in the largest such effort since the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976.

The interagency traveling exhibit, which opened at the Monticello Visitor Center on January 14, launched a four-year odyssey that will travel the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from Virginia to the Oregon coast from 2003-2006.

“Corps of Discovery II: 200 Years to the Future,” the centerpiece of interagency efforts, hopes to visit several hundred cities and educate millions about the importance of the expedition in our nation’s history. The event is a collective effort of federal and state agencies, private and nonprofit organizations, and American Indian tribes.

Under the auspices of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the National Park Service is providing funding, exhibit design and production, transportation, and support staff.

After January 19, the Corps of Discovery II tractor-trailer with its spectacular graphics began to travel across the country, unfolding into museum-quality interpretive exhibits as well as a “living history” performance tent.

The Tent of Many Voices provides a space for live demonstrations, lectures, cultural presentations and audiovisual showings. The live performances will vary along the route, with presentations made in partnership with Indian tribes, various federal agencies, state and local governments and the private sector.

In 2001, 21 agencies signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in commemorating the Bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark exhibition. These agencies have developed an interagency map and brochure. Joined by other agencies, they have also set up a cooperative website, www.lewisandclark200.gov, from which each agency website can be accessed.

In addition to providing historical and current documents, the web site features a map on which users can click to get information on all relevant sites in each state. A future issue of People Land and Water magazine will feature articles by many of the agencies on their Bicentennial activities as well as historical photographs published for the first time.

The list of the agencies partnering in the project includes:

Department of Agriculture
–Forest Service
–Natural Resources Conservation Service

Department of the Army
–U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of the Interior
–Bureau of Indian Affairs
–Bureau of Land Management
–Bureau of Reclamation
–National Park Service
–U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
–U.S. Geological Survey

Department of Transportation
–Federal Highway Administration
–United States Coast Guard

Department of the Treasury
–United States Mint

Environmental Protection Agency

Institute of Museum and Library Services

National Archives and Records Administration

National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Humanities

Smithsonian Institution

For more information about the Corps of Discovery II exhibit and tour locations, contact the National Park Service at 402-514-9311 or http://www.nps.gov/lecl. For more information about other interagency efforts, agency media contacts, and B-roll, call 202-208-3280. Note: Interagency B-Roll, Website, Map & Magazine Available Federal Partners for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial: Department of Agriculture Forest Service Natural Resources Conservation Service Department of the Army U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Department of Education Department of Energy Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Reclamation National Park Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Geological Survey Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration United States Coast Guard Department of the Treasury United States Mint Environmental Protection Agency Institute of Museum and Library Services National Archives and Records Administration National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities Smithsonian Institution