University Calendar

Hometown Teams, a traveling exhibition from the world-famous Smithsonian Institution that explores the connection between sports and community, is making its New Jersey premiere at the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center.

Opening five days before this year’s Super Bowl just a few miles away in the Meadowlands,  Hometown Teams is the story of how sports connect generations and makes passionate, lifelong fans out of many of us. The exhibit is part of the Smithsonian’s “Museum on Main Street” program, in association with the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

The exhibit can be seen at the Museum from Jan. 29-March 16, 2014. A series of public programs connected to the exhibit will include a February sports film series, children’s sports art drawing classes, and a one-day sportswriting seminar.

The central theme of the Hometown Teams exhibition is the ongoing cultural processes that have made America such a celebrator of sports, through teamwork, leadership, and team pride.

Through a selection of photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia, the Hometown Teams exhibition explores various aspects of sports and teams, from how and why we play these games to what makes us fans and why we root for our home teams. The story is full of surprises about familiar games, histories of our teams and sports traditions, and how sports and teams have become such an integral part of American society.