Aila Boyd
The Commonwealth of Virginia’s VA250 Mobile Museum Experience will visit the Salem Museum from Thursday, April 16, through Saturday, April 18, offering a free, family-friendly look at the nation’s founding era.
The hands-on, interactive exhibit, titled “Out of Many, One,” is housed in an expandable tractor-trailer traveling across Virginia ahead of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. The traveling “museum on wheels” is designed to bring students, families and the wider community together for an immersive journey into the period that shaped the nation.
The exhibit will be open to homeschool families from 3 to 4 p.m. April 16 and 17, followed by public hours from 4 to 5 p.m. those days. Additional public hours will be held Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Living historians from the Fincastle Company also will be on site Saturday, April 18, demonstrating the professions, trades and crafts essential to Colonial life. The group portrays both military and civilian roles from the American Revolution era and is known for detailed research into period-accurate clothing and equipment. Members regularly present living history programs at historic sites throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
The visit also highlights Salem Museum’s own ties to the Colonial period. Among the museum’s featured artifacts are the French and Indian War battle sword of Col. William Fleming, a physician and statesman, and a bronze bust of Gen. Andrew Lewis modeled after the statue outside the Salem Civic Center. Lewis is remembered for his victories in the French and Indian War and Dunmore’s War, as well as for driving Virginia’s last British governor, Lord Dunmore, from the colony shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
The visit is sponsored by City of Salem VA250, The Lofts at Downtown Salem, the Laub family, the Hart family and the Robertson Endowment for Exhibits and Events.
The Salem Museum is located in the historic 1845 Williams-Brown House, 801 E. Main St. Admission and parking are free, with donations accepted. Regular museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The entrance is located at the Oakey Field Complex sign across Main Street from the Berglund Ford service entrance. For more information, call 540-389-6760 or visit SalemMuseum.org.
