Making Alabama: A Bicentennial Traveling Exhibit, presented by the Alabama Humanities Foundation in partnership with Alabama Department of Archives and History and Alabama Bicentennial Commission, opens in Andalusia today.

A reception is set for 5:30 until 7 tonight at LAAC’s The Gallery.

The display blends artistic collages, interactive computer tablets and an audio medley of song and spoken word to tell the story of Alabama – from becoming a territory to achieving statehood. It explores eight periods of history that defined Alabama as a state – decisions and turning points that shaped what the state would become and what it will be – all in an impressive display to retrace the state’s footsteps featuring people, places and cultures that are still Making Alabama.

Alabama Humanities Foundation officials, along with LAAC volunteers, and representatives of organizations that will host the exhibit in the future were on hand in Andalusia last Thursday to set up the displays.

The LAAC arts center will also offer at $10 a copy the companion book Past Port: A Time-Traveler’s Companion to Our Counties; it will be available as well at Springdale and the Three-Notch Museum. Purchasers can get their Covington County page stamped at any one of these locations, as well as at W.S. Harlan Elementary School in Lockhart.

Steve Hubbard, president of the Lower Alabama Arts Coalition, invites everyone from throughout the county, as well as visitors passing through, to see the exhibit. “I especially encourage teachers of Alabama and American history to bring their students,” Hubbard says. “The LAAC is very pleased to have been asked to host the exhibit.”

The schedule for the exhibit in Andalusia is Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., through Sept. 28. On three Saturdays, September 8, 15, and 22, the arts center will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Mondays may be available for groups by appointment; the number to call is (334) 222-3205.

To learn more about this statewide exhibit and scheduling, go to MakingAlabama.org.