OWINGS MILLS, MD – Maryland Public Television (MPT) is displaying its MPT 50th Anniversary Traveling Exhibit at public venues across the state in celebration of the statewide broadcasting network’s 50 years of service to Marylanders. Libraries in St. Mary’s, Carroll and Cecil counties, and Baltimore City will host the exhibit in April and May.
The MPT 50th Anniversary Traveling Exhibit explores the network’s origins, signature programs, familiar faces, and evolution – all fulfilling MPT’s mission to enrich lives and strengthen communities through the power of media. It features seven 10-foot-tall display panels guiding visitors chronologically through MPT’s five decades of service and includes a station where viewers of all ages can color their favorite PBS characters or submit a note of congratulations to be displayed later this year on MPT’s virtual Birthday Wish Wall at mpt.org/50th. Maryland’s public TV network first went on the air October 5, 1969.
MPT produced two sets of the traveling exhibit to expand the display’s accessibility to communities across the state. The schedule, to date, of 2019 traveling exhibit appearances is available at mpt.org/about/50thexhibit/.
In April, the pair of exhibits will be on display at the Pennsylvania Avenue Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore City and the Lexington Park Branch of the St. Mary’s County Library. The Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Pennsylvania Avenue Branch is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 1531 West North Avenue in Baltimore. The Lexington Park Library, located at 21677 FDR Boulevard, is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
During May, the exhibits will visit the Eldersburg Branch of the Carroll County Public Library and the Perryville Branch of the Cecil County Public Library. The Carroll County Public Library’s Eldersburg Branch is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8:45 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 6400 West Hemlock Drive. The Cecil County Public Library’s Perryville Branch, located at 500 Coudon Boulevard, is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In addition to the traveling exhibit, MPT’s 50th anniversary commemorations include the two-hour documentary Made Possible by Viewers Like You: 50 Years of Maryland Public Television and 84-page history book “Made Possible by Viewers Like You: The History of Maryland Public Television, 1969-2019.” The film will premiere on Mon., June 3 at 8 p.m. on MPT-HD and the history book will be available later this spring. In the fall, MPT will also unveil a yearlong museum exhibit at the University of Maryland’s Hornbake Library in College Park.
More information about MPT’s 50th anniversary activities and observances may be found at mpt.org/50th.
The MPT 50th Anniversary Traveling Exhibit is made possible in part by the City of Hagerstown, the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center, the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
