KING CITY — Monterey County Agricultural and Rural Life Museum (MCARLM) hosted a pop-up exhibit and picnic last Sunday, selling 95 lunches, with about half ordered as take-home due to the hot weather.
MCARLM staff placed picnic tables in shady areas and under trees for the afternoon lunch on Aug. 16. Those who came to the park in King City were able to view outdoor exhibits rather than go inside the museum buildings.
“An outdoor exhibit utilizing the artifacts in our vast collection seemed like a good resource and opportunity to provide our community with a safe method of entertainment,” said Jessica Potts, executive director of MCARLM. “To support the exhibit, and keep the museum operational, even with the doors closed, we decided to make it into a barbecue picnic.”
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the shutdown of California museums, and many health restrictions have made nonprofit fundraisers difficult to host.
“With funding being cut due to the Covid-19 issues, and losing a couple of our fundraisers this year, we are needing to find ways to remain relevant and hold fundraisers to keep funds coming in to maintain staff and programming,” Potts said. “Outdoor museum exhibits are still allowed, so we started working on a series of outdoor pop-up exhibits, in response to a need to continue to serve our community and to remain relevant as an educational organization.”
The pop-up fell into place with a 100th birthday for the Titan 10-20, a historic farm tractor in the museum’s collection.
“It is a unique piece of equipment, that is still fully operational, with a little love,” Potts said. “This was a good opportunity to provide a little outlet, education and fun for our community, and to showcase some of our unique antique farming equipment.”
The museum recently hired a new group of teen interns who would normally work with the public through tours at the museum, but Potts explained that the pandemic shutdown has caused a shift toward having them help with group projects. The pop-up was one way they could work toward education about agricultural history.
“The interns each took a piece of equipment and spend the past month researching it, learning as much as they could about its history and uses,” she said. “They then prepared a presentation that they gave to visitors during the exhibit. I am proud of the work that they did as individuals and as a group, and am very excited about the upcoming year working with this group of exceptional young adults.”
The MCARLM buildings are located within a 200-acre park, which makes surrounding space plentiful. That spacing allowed for exhibit setup that adhered to social distancing guidelines.
“We were able to set up six pieces of equipment, with more than plenty of spacing for social distancing, as well as plenty of room to keep the picnic tables a good distance away from one another,” Potts said. “There was no issue with crowding or keeping social groups away from others. Everyone in attendance was so happy to be able to be out and enjoying a safe outdoor experience, that they respected the mask and distancing requirements. The feedback on the outdoor exhibit was great, except for the heat.”
Museum doors remain closed for the foreseeable future, but Potts said the MCARLM crew continues to plan. More pop-up exhibits are being planned, and weather permitting, she said they might take place every six to eight weeks.
“We are currently working on putting together an exhibit from the Smithsonian called ‘Votes for Women,’” Potts said. “This exhibit is a poster exhibit on women’s suffrage, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary on Aug. 18. We hope to present this in September.”
In addition to that project, Potts said the interns continue to film video presentations for the museum’s YouTube channel, provide outreach with local schools during distance learning and create a documentary about a teen’s perspective about the impacts of Covid-19 on the lives of local youth.
“While we have had to rethink this year’s intern program, the group, led by our new college intern, is very enthusiastic, and I foresee a lot of growth and great projects being accomplished this upcoming year,” Potts said.
