Clarksville, TN – The Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is located in historic downtown Clarksville, Tennessee. Come explore an entire city block featuring large gallery spaces filled with fine art, science and history.
Some of the events in June at the Museum are: Remembering D-Day: 75th Anniversary, Batter Up! Celebrating America’s Pastime, Here Comes the Bride, Annual Staff Art Show, Bold Strokes: The Art of Sandy Spain and Flying High.
Customs House Museum Exhibits
The Mysterious Captain Weems
Through September 29th | Memory Lane
New donations to the Museum’s collections supplement the story of Captain PVC Weems, who lived in Clarksville as a child and went on to invent navigational devices. The exhibit includes a sextant, navigation plotting ruler, and a star position calculator.
Remembering D-Day: 75th Anniversary
Through September 29th | Memory Lane
This exhibition presents World War II artifacts from the Museum’s collections and private collections including plans & maps of Normandy and World War II senate surrender documents signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower and General Douglas MacArthur.
Batter Up! Celebrating America’s Pastime
Through July 28th | Crouch Gallery
An exhibition of baseball memorabilia, local history, and artifacts including a 1927 World Series game ball, Nolan Ryan’s jersey from his final season, and local celebrity Clark Coyote. Sponsored by Legends Bank.
Sharon Rusch Shaver: The Way I See It
Through July 25th | Orgain/Bruner
Gallatin, Tennessee artist, Sharon Rusch Shaver paints the world around her. In 2008 the artist was awarded an Artist-in-Residence at Glen Arbor Art Association in Glen Arbor, MI. Shaver was commissioned to do a painting for the White House in Washington, D.C. in 1999, which is a part of their permanent collection.
Shaver’s works are collected by major corporations such as Brown-Forman in Louisville, KY; Wal-Mart in Bentonville, AR; Blue Cross and Blue Shield, as well as private collections throughout the country.
Here Comes the Bride
Through July 21st | Jostons Gallery
This exhibition features wedding dresses, vintage photos, announcements, cake toppers, hair pieces and more from the Museum’s collections.
Annual Staff Art Show
Through June 23rd | Lobby
The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center presents an exhibition of works in various media by staff members of the Museum. This exhibition celebrates their talent, highlighting the Museum’s legacy of nurturing working artists and exhibiting art generated in the local community.
Bold Strokes: The Art of Sandy Spain
Through June 23rd | Harvill Gallery
This Nashville artist working in acrylics is known for her strong color palette. Ms. Spain has work in private collections throughout the United States, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Austria and Germany.
15 Over 50: A Women’s History Month Exhibition
Through June 9th | Kimbrough Gallery
This exhibition features 15 contemporary women artists from across the country all over age 50. Works include photography, painting, and sculpture done in a variety of styles.
Programs and Events
Flying High
Saturday, June 1st | Starting at 5:00pm | Wilma Rudolph Event Center 21 & over
Members: $150.00 per person, Non-members: $200.00 per person
On June 1st, 2019, the Museum will host its 36th annual Flying High fundraising event. This event will be a fun-filled night with silent & live auctions, dinner, drinks, live music, and dancing. This year’s theme is Mad for the Arts, inspired by the critically acclaimed Mad Men television series.
Tickets can be purchased online at flyinghigh2019.ticket.qtego.net/tickets/list or by phone at 931.648.5780.
Friday Mornings in June: Ocean Explorers!
June 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th | Explorers’ Landing Drop-in between 10:30pm – 11:30am
Free with paid admission or membership | Ages 2-5, with an adult caretaker
Explore the ocean water beads sensory bin. What sea creatures will you find to play with? Examine and touch a real starfish, plus have fun fishing for images of ocean life using a child-friendly, kid-size magnetic fishing pole.
Hands-on Activities: World Oceans Day Science Experiment
Saturday, June 15th & 22nd | Explorers’ Landing Drop-in between 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Free with paid admission or membership | Grades K-6th, with an adult caretaker
Celebrated annually on June 8th, World Oceans Day raises awareness about the role oceans play in the survival of all species on Earth. One problem that confronts wildlife is oil spills. Conduct a simple and engaging science experiment that simulates an oil spill clean-up. Predict what physical and chemical reactions will occur between substances and discover the results.
What substance was most effective at cleaning up the oil spill, and why? Who knew observing hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, and nano-technology could be so much fun?
Sunday Family Fun Learning Day: Printing with the Art on the Bottom of Shoes
Sunday, June 16th | Family Art Studio Drop-in between 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Free with paid admission or membership | Ages 3+ with an adult caretaker
Ridges and grooves are placed on the bottoms of shoes to help keep our shoes from slipping and sliding on smooth surfaces. Many shoes, like those worn when playing baseball, also have cleats for better traction.
Look at the bottom of your shoe. Depending on the use of the shoe, you will find varying degrees of depth in the treads as well as variation in design. Some shoes even have flowers and butterflies in their tread design!
Put on your painting duds and join us as we use some old shoes for printers to create some abstract art. Count on getting a little messy!
First Thursday Art Walk
Thursday, June 6th | 5:00pm – 7:00pm
The Museum is open to the public with free admission as part of Downtown Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk.
35th Anniversary Free Admission Weekend
Saturday, June 8th | 10:00am – 5:00pm & Sunday, June 9th | 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Model Trains will run Saturday 10:00am – 11:30am & 1:30pm – 3:00pm and Sunday 1:00pm – 4:00pm
The Museum will be celebrating its 35th Anniversary in the month of June. The Museum will be open to the public with free admission both Saturday and Sunday and offering 10% off all new memberships. The Huff & Puff Express model train exhibit will also be running both Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, as part of our Anniversary celebration, experience a Living Exhibit featuring Clarksville’s famous Olympian, Wilma Rudolph. Through a partnership with the Roxy Regional Theatre, an actor will portray Wilma Rudolph in our Challenges & Champions Sports Gallery.
Join Ms. Sue on Sunday in the Explorers’ Landing for some good, old-fashioned fun. Play games from the “old days”: ring toss, hop-scotch, pickup sticks, Cootie, bean bag toss, Chutes & Ladders, and MORE! There will also be a Sabrett Hot Dog vendor in the courtyard.
Seasons: The Museum Store
Father’s Day Sale
Happy Father’s Day! Enjoy 15% off your entire purchase. Choose from a broad selection of gifts for the men in your life! No other discounts apply. Sale ends June 18th, 2019.
Closures
The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center will be closed Saturday, June 1st for Flying High 2019.
About the Customs House Museum
Located in the heart of historic downtown Clarksville, Tennessee, the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is the State’s second largest general museum. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1898 as a U.S. Post Office and Customs House for the flourishing tobacco trade. Incorporating a number of architectural styles, the original structure is one of the most photographed buildings in the region.
With over 35,000 square feet of the region’s best hands-on activities and special events…people of all ages agree – the Customs House Museum is well worth the stop!
The Explorer’s Gallery is packed with fun, learning and fantasy in Aunt Alice’s Attic, McGregor’s Market and kitchen, and of course – the Bubble Cave! Finally, get “all aboard” to see our fantastic model trains. Our volunteer engineers “ride the rails” every Sunday afternoon from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.
Regular museum hours are 10:00am to 5:00pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00pm to 5:00pm on Sundays. Adult admission is $7.00, Senior Citizens and College ID $5.00, Ages 6 to 18 $3.00, and under six years and Museum members are free.
The Customs House Museum is located at 200 South Second Street. For more information, call 931.648.5780 or visit their website at www.customshousemuseum.org
