As part of the 50th anniversary of the 1968 World’s Fair, the University of Texas at San Antonio’s ITC created two great walkthru exhibits celebrating the Fair’s legacy. The larger of the two exhibits was titled: “Viva HemisFair” which told the story of HemisFair 68′ thru displays, overhead audio recordings and a large projection video display.

The second yet equally informative was titled: “Viva ITC” which told the story of the ITC’s own history, first being purpose built as the Fair’s – State of Texas Pavilion then as an interactive museum specializing in the diverse ethnic history of those who settled Texas. To learn more about the “Viva ITC” exhibit be sure to visit it’s own page within the 50th anniversary section of the website.

Included in the 50th anniversary exhibit was an interactive section near the exit which both displayed content on the recent renovations & revitalization of the site by HPARC, as well as, a section for visitors to the exhibit to share their memories of HemisFair 68′ and /or thoughts on the recent revitalizations. Same as with the 40th anniversary back in 2008, the exhibit displayed memorabilia from both from the UTSA & ITC archives and from private collectors including myself. In the next section I go into more detail on the excitement I still have today on being part of the exhibit.

Below are a series of images I took of the exhibit during its run from April 6, 2018 thru Jan 6, 2019.

Getting to be Part of the Exhibit

One of the things I remember most about visiting the ITC’s HemisFair 68′ – 40th anniversary exhibit back in 2008 was how it included items on loan both from other museums, as well as, private individuals to help tell the story of the 1968 World’s Fair. I remember thinking then, how great it would be in 10 years time to be able to loan out some items from my collection as part of a 50th anniversary exhibit in 2018. In January of 2018 I got my wish, after visiting the ITC and meeting with the curator in charge of the 50th anniversary exhibit I was invited to be part of the exhibit. In the end I loaned two sets of souvenir salt & pepper shakers, as well as, one of the commerative first day in my collection. Included in the “Images” section below are two pics of my participation in the exhibit. For me it was a great privilege to be one of the dozens of people who contributed to the 50th anniversary exhibit and many thanks to the ITC for allowing me to be part of it 🙂

Images

Below are images I took of the exhibit.