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Writer's pictureKentucky Hempsters

1996 | Kentucky Hemp Museum & Library launches mobile exhibit

Updated: Jan 19, 2019



Craig Lee and the Kentucky Hemp Museum mobile exhibit "the hemp van" at  Slim Buttes on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1999.
Craig Lee and the Kentucky Hemp Museum mobile exhibit "the hemp van" at Slim Buttes on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1999.

Woody Harrelsons's visit to Kentucky kick-started a nation-wide educational initiative by the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association (KHGCA). With his help, the Kentucky Hemp Museum and Library hit the road, launching the mobile museum exhibit. His relationship with the Turner Foundation had scored the museum an annual grant of $25,000.

Both Harrelson and Cockrel hailed the organization and its efforts, "What a great way to end a school year to have none other than the Hollywood actor himself speaking to a group of fifth-grade students in my classroom. The Ted Turner Foundation supports preservation of the environment, natural resources, and wildlife, and works on population issues in the United States and abroad. Harrelson, the environmental steward, supports the same ideas," said Donna.

The mobile exhibit started with a van, three multimedia exhibit modules, product samples and handouts. Eventually it would hemp interior and video capability. Kentucky hemp activist and museum director, Craig Lee, became known for his travels across the country promoting the Kentucky hemp industry. He was often joined by Woody, along with other celebrity activists and humanitarians like Wille Nelson and Merle Haggard. From 1996 - 1997, the van traveled to Nevada, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Mexico, Washington D.C., and Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and the North American Industrial Hemp Council at the Vancouver Hemp Symposium.


Kentucky Hempsters co-founders Alyssa Erickson and Kirstin Bohnert with the Kentucky Hemp Museum Van in January 2015.
Kentucky Hempsters co-founders Alyssa Erickson and Kirstin Bohnert with the Kentucky Hemp Museum Van in January 2015.

Click the links below to learn more about the Harrelson and Cockrel trials:

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Sources

Gifford, H. (n.d.). Kentucky Hemp Museum Celebrates Crop’s Past. Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha6218.html


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