Contact: Kevin Coburn
Phone: 802-649-2200 ext. 222
Email: kevin.coburn@montshire.org

NORWICH, VT--The Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont, will present Covered Bridges: Spanning the American Landscape, a new exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution August 5-October 15, 2006. The Montshire will be the first venue in New England for the exhibit.

Few engineering structures—indeed, few historic structures of any kind—captivate the American imagination like covered wood bridges. Simultaneously sturdy and beautiful, covered bridges evoke the calm of a simpler age far from today’s bustling freeways. Romance and nostalgia, however, often mask the substantial engineering achievements these bridges represent. It is precisely this embodiment of both the cultural and the technological that gives covered wood bridges their widespread appeal and understated significance.

The United States is home to about 800 covered wood bridges—nearly 60 percent of the world’s total—and an active network of scholars and citizens working to document and preserve significant bridges.

Sadly, some five bridges are lost each year to age, arson, flooding, and traffic. This 1000 square-foot exhibit showcases photographs, architectural and engineering drawings, models, and bridge artifacts that illustrate the cultural heritage covered bridges represent, and the important role they still play in our transportation infrastructure. Covered Bridges: Spanning the American Landscape focuses on bridges across the United States, including several local structures like the Winsdor, Vt./Cornish, N.H. Bridge. The exhibit was developed and distributed by The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in Washington, D.C.

The exhibit is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Montshire Museum seven days a week from August 5 through October 15, 2006. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $6.50 for children 3-17. Children under 3 are admitted free. The Museum is located on 110 lovely acres bordering the Connecticut River in Norwich, Vt. (five miles north of the intersection of I-91 and I-89).

Kevin Coburn
Manager, Public Relations
Montshire Museum of Science
Norwich, VT

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