Webb City Historical Society volunteer Sue Gosch (center) guides a group of Webster Elementary School second graders through a traveling Smithsonian history exhibit Wednesday morning at The Clubhouse, located at 115 N. Madison Street in Webb City. FOR TNC. Globe/David Stonner

WEBB CITY, Mo. — About 12 second-graders listened intently Wednesday to Donna Krudwig as she read out of a book about people selling and eating different foods around the world.

When she talked about the soup made in Hong Kong out of pythons, the children’s reaction in unison was immediate: “Ew!”

The pupils from Missy Graves’ second-grade class at Webster Elementary School were among about 2,000 Webb City schoolchildren visiting a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit, “Key Ingredients: America by Food.”

Students learned about food, eating and serving via the exhibit and an accompanying workshop offered through the Webb City Historical Society, said society president Eileen Nichols. The exhibit also is open to the public.

“If you put it in something (children) understand, they get real interested in it,” said Krudwig, a society volunteer who led groups of 10 to 12 students through the exhibit, which features pictures, packaging, appliances and text.

The exhibit is intended to show the importance of food in American culture and in the cultures of other countries. Webb City is one of six Missouri cities offering this exhibit, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Web site.

The historical society got a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council to help bring the exhibit to town. The society pitched a plan to teach children about place settings, napkin folding and garnishing a table.

The exhibit includes many antique appliances and detailed information for adult patrons, Nichols said.

Napkin folding was Ryan Kent’s favorite activity Wednesday. He is a student in Dixie Wynne’s class. He said he intends to show his parents the new skill at home.

“We learned how to fold the napkins to hold knives and spoons and forks ... and you have it there ready to eat with,” he said.

Krudwig said volunteers tried to focus the lessons on basic skills, because they did not want etiquette debates with parents once the children went home.

“We’re not trying to tell about doing it all the same way, but to appreciate different ways,” Nichols said.