C&O Canal exhibit open until Oct. 12 in Williamsport

September 22, 2008

WILLIAMSPORT - Visitors to the C&O Canal have until Oct. 12 to see the special traveling canal exhibit housed at the Cushwa Basin Trolley Barn.

Building America's Canals, organized by the National Canal Museum, features tables where children can learn how to build a canal, construct an aqueduct, design and operate lift locks, build suspension bridges and operate cranes used to load and unload canal boats.

This marks the first time the entire Trolley Barn building has been open to the general public since it was built in 1895, according to National Park Service officials.

The interactive exhibit was brought to Williamsport with donations from local businesses and governments and efforts from the C&O Canal Trust, a nonprofit fundraising group created last year to help raise needed funds for the C&O Canal National Historical Park. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

As part of an agreement with Washington County Public Schools, every fourth-grader in Washington County will visit the exhibit before it closes Oct. 12.

The exhibit is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cushwa Basin Trolley Barn, adjacent to the C&O Canal visitor center in Williamsport. Admission is free.

Children ages 6 to 12 have the opportunity to complete an activity booklet and earn a Junior Ranger badge while visiting the park.

For more information about the C&O Canal National Historical Park and the Junior Ranger program, go to www.nps.gov/choh.

The C&O Canal National Historical Park is Maryland's largest and most-visited national park.

It stretches 184.5 miles from Georgetown to Cumberland, and more of the park is in Washington County than in any other jurisdiction. The park is headquartered in Washington County, in Hagerstown.

The National Canal Museum, located in Easton, Penn., is the only museum in the country dedicated to telling the story of America's historic towpath canals. The museum specializes in hands-on exhibits that educate and entertain parents and children alike.

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