A local machinery museum will have part of the Smithsonian Institution "fenced in" this month.

The Minnesota Machinery Museum in Hanley Falls is displaying the Smithsonian Institution's Museum on Main Street exhibit of "Between Fences" Friday through Sept. 30. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

The exhibit is a partnership between the Minnesota Humanities Center and six communities in greater Minnesota, which includes Hanley Falls. Machinery Museum Director Mavis Gustafson said when the opportunity arose, she took it.

"You have a chance to apply, which I did, about a year ago," Gustafson said. "(Minnesota) Humanities contacted us and said we had been accepted."

Gustafson said the museum has had traveling Smithsonian exhibits in the past, which include ones on women in agriculture and barns.

"We know they've been well-received," Gustafson said. "The last one we had, the parking lot was full nearly every day."

The traveling exhibits are designed to bring what the Smithsonian has to offer out to the people.

Because the museum will be the first venue for the exhibit, Gustafson said representatives from the Smithsonian and the Minnesota Humanities will come to Hanley Falls to give training to Gustafson and the volunteers.

"We feel kind of fortunate, we won't just get all these boxes and try to figure out how to do it," Gustafson said.

The exhibit is primarily a lot of photos, Gustafson said, but it also includes illustrations and artifacts.

"That was so exciting to me, because I feel that it fits our purpose here in the rural area," Gustafson said.

Gustafson said she and the volunteers will also take items from around the museum and incorporate it into the exhibit, which includes a quilt with a picket fence theme.

Gustafson said the museum will sell pickets that people can decorate any way they want.

"That keeps people interested, it gives them a reason to stop in," Gustafson said. "I think it's going to be a very nice exhibit when we put it all together."