Bringing Home the Concept of Where We Come From: Programs on Human Migration

Terry Ehle, Youth Services Coordinator, Lester Public Library, Two Rivers, Wis.

In 2023, the Lester Public Library in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, was one of just 15 in the nation selected to host World on the Move: 250,000 Years of Human Migration, an exhibit developed by the American Anthropological Association, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and administered by ALA. The exhibit explored why people move, how migration changes individuals and communities, and what those movements mean for our shared future. Our hosting period was March 20-April 23, 2024.

Hosting this exhibit was a big deal for this library in a small town of fewer than 13,000. Some of the other entities hosting included San Jose, Houston and Kansas City (Kansas) public libraries. Our single, one-floor library faced a bit of a challenge physically accommodating this exhibit, but we managed—thanks to the acquisition of wheeled shelving a couple of years prior, which allowed us to open up floor space. An additional, more important goal was to support the exhibition’s message by offering creative and meaningful programming for all ages.

Programs to help explore the question: where do we come from?

Our adult programs featured authors and professors who spoke on topics including early settlement and immigration in our county prior to 1900; the Hmong American experience; contemporary U.S. asylum, refugee, and immigration policy; and the Volga German experience.

Recurring programs like our Book Discussion Group and Genealogy Club were modified to align closely with the exhibit. Family programs included a performance by a folk duo renowned in our region, who sang the stories of people who’ve moved from place to place and country to country.

We hosted a community collage. We had a station outfitted with paper strips, letter stamps and ink pads, and adults and kids were invited to stamp the one word they would use to describe home. They could personalize their pieces with Sharpie flourishes. 

Our dramatic play center became the site of LPL Air. Think ticket counter, passenger and baggage x-ray, maps, flight schedules, and the ear protectors, reflective vests and wands needed to equip aircraft marshallers. Plus, of course, a cockpit complete with an instrument panel and a big flashing light, and a passenger cabin outfitted with beverage and snack carts. It was all about folks on the move. Two families reported that LPL Air prepared their children for their first air travel experience!

Children pilot the LPL Air airplane.

Photograph courtesy of Lester Public Library

LPL Air in action.

Photograph courtesy of Lester Public Library

"Airport scanner" as part of LPL Air Dramatic Play.

Photograph courtesy of Lester Public Library

Pushing the beverage cart.

Photograph courtesy of Lester Public Library

Airport artwork.

Photograph courtesy of Lester Public Library

Community Collage instructions.

Photograph courtesy of Lester Public Library

Community collage explanation.

Photograph courtesy of Lester Public Library

Community collage words on the wall.

Photograph courtesy of Lester Public Library

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Materials included in the take-home Family Activity Pack.

Family Activity Pack

To extend these experiences beyond the library, we created a special take-home Family Activity Pack that invited families to explore the question at the heart of World on the Move: Where do we come from?

Each pack included My Family and Me: A Family History Fill-in Book by Cara J. Stevens (purchased with local community foundation funding), a color world map from Geology.com, and materials to build a creative family tree. We encouraged families to start with a simple “blueprint” of who they wanted to include—whether immediate relatives, extended family, or chosen family—and to focus on creativity and connection rather than genealogical accuracy.

The tree itself became a centerpiece: a large sheet of brown paper (about 3’x3’) hand-painted with a bare tree, accompanied by colorful paper leaves, cardstock frames for drawings or photos, and glue sticks for assembly. (In hindsight, I’d recommend providing the materials and letting families paint their own unique trees—mine were a labor of love painted one by one, with help from my teenage daughters!)

The result: beautifully personal trees celebrating family—past and present—while deepening the exhibit’s message that movement and connection shape who we are.

Included in the Family Activity Pack:

  • My Family and Me: A Family History Fill-in Book by Cara J. Stevens (9780062914842) found for $2 each at Books4School.com and purchased with funding from the local community foundation.
  • We printed letter-size color world maps from Geology.com.
  • Our sample blueprint used circles labeled "me," "mom," "dad," "brother," "stepdad," and so on. We reminded participants that children might want to include only immediate family and pets, all the cousins, aunts and uncles, chosen family, or anyone who feels part of their story.
  • The tree was a bare tree hand-painted on a large (about 3’x3’) sheet of brown paper. Recommended: Simply supply the sheet of paper and paint for families to make their own trees.
  • Each pack also included a glue stick, 20 leaves (six packs of 180 leaves for $9.50/pack on Amazon), and 10 cardstock frames for drawings or photos. To make the frames, we cut 3.5-inch squares from cardstock and punched them with a 3-inch square punch in the center.
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