GRANVILLE, Ohio— The Denison Museum celebrates its fifth year with two new exhibitions. “Knock on Wood, Five Years and Counting: The Fifth Anniversary of the Denison Museum” and “Turning Leaves: Tea through Time and Around the World” will open with a reception from 5 – 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16, in the Denison Museum at Burke Hall (240 West Broadway). The exhibition continues through Friday, Dec. 9, (closed November 19-27). The opening reception features a tea bar hosted by ZenCha Tea Salon. The museum is open daily from noon to 5 p.m. and Thursdays from noon to 7 p.m.  All museum events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Sarah Baker at 740-587-6255 or visit www.denison.edu/museum.

In many traditions, married couples exchange gifts made of wood to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. “Knock on Wood” highlights the many wooden items that Denison Museum has accumulated since Edmund Burke proposed the idea of an art collection. The exhibition uses the objects, especially those in the Burmese art collection, to convey the history of the museum, the collection and its donors.

The history of tea has been steeped in many cultures. “Turning Leaves” celebrates tea, its history and its ability to cross disciplines and cultures. Tea is a unifying element that can be found in political, social, artistic and religious realms, which have shaped world history, as well as the physical sciences which study its properties. This exhibition explores the many dimensions of this boundary-crossing beverage.