House & Home (June 16 – August 11, 2016)

What make a house a home?  Throughout American history, people have lived in all sorts of places, from military barracks and two‐story colonials to college dormitories and row houses.  Drawn from the flagship installation at The National Building Museum, House & Home embarks on a tour of houses both familiar and surprising, through past and present, to explore the varied history, and many cultural meanings of the American home.NEH on the Road’s House & Home encourages visitors to explore how our ideal of the perfect house and our experience of what it means to “be at home” have changed over time. The exhibition includes domestic furnishings and home construction materials, photographs, “please touch” interactive components, and films. Together, the objects and images illustrate how transformations in technology, government policy, and consumer culture have impacted American domestic life.This exhibition is made possible by NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  House & Home was organized by the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.  It was adapted and toured by Mid-America Arts Alliance.