Opium: The Business of Addiction was a special exhibition on view at the museum April 27, 2022 – March 26, 2023. It told the story of the Forbes family’s involvement in the 19th c. opium trade, its links to the current opioid epidemic, and its lasting impact on US-Sino relations.
The Opioid Project: Changing Perceptions Through Art and Storytelling was a companion exhibit on view at the Milton Public Library November 15 – December 29, 2022. Through collages and recorded statements by Milton residents who have been personally impacted, the exhibit contextualized and brought to life the human costs of the opioid epidemic. Take a virtual tour of The Opioid Project.
For Teachers
We can visit your classroom or work with you to create a field trip experience to explore more about “Early America, the China Trade and the Opium Problem.” To learn more, click here.
We’ve also partnered with the Massachusetts Historical Society to create a primary resource set on the topic “Opium Smugglers: Boston Merchants and the China Trade, 1790-1850.” It includes teaching activities for Grades 6-12. The resource set can be accessed here.
Interested in attending an in-person teacher workshop to learn more? Boston to Guangzhou and Back: Perspectives & Legacy of the US-China Trade, 1790-1850s is a one-day event in partnership with the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Five College Center for East Asian Studies. To learn more about this February 18, 2025 workshop, go to https://www.masshist.org/events/teacher-workshop-China-Trade
This exhibition was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, IGSM-249469-OMS-21 and ARPML-250857-OMLS-22, and the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Other funders include the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Mass Humanities, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Milton, Courageous Conversations Toward Racial Justice, Peter and Kathy Markell, and the Milton Coalition.
