Connecticut
The Peabody Museum of Natural History was awarded an IMLS Museums for America Grant. The museum will add a video production initiative to its free afterschool program that promotes STEM literacy, provides college preparation, promotes career awareness, and increases transferable skills development. The initiative will benefit the museum by creating a venue for curators and other researchers to share their work with the public.
The Greenwich Historical Society, founded in 1931, was the 2015 recipient of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce's Nonprofit Leadership Award. The honor is given annually to a nonprofit organization or an individual that has made a significant difference in the betterment of the Greenwich community.
The Mystic Seaport Museum will improve the physical state of the 1908 steamboat, Sabino, a National Historic Landmark vessel and the last remaining operational wooden coal-fired steamboat in the United States. IMLS Museums for America grant program will be providing some funds. “The Charles W. Morgan: A Picture History,” won an award from the Association for the Study of Connecticut History. It is the Betty M. Linsley Award, which recognizes the best work on a significant aspect of Connecticut’s history published by, for, or on behalf of a Connecticut historical society or organization.
Mystic Arts Center will change its name to the Mystic Museum of Art (MMA). The museum celebrated a centennial anniversary in 2013, and conducted and completed a three-year strategic plan thanks to a capacity building grant from Connecticut Humanities that funded the engagement of consultants. MMA will continue to engage the regional art scene, teach art, foster creativity, and serve as a gathering place for the exchange of ideas. Executive Director, George King, stated that “the museum designation underscores, above all, our wish to be committed to community and place. We will be introducing and assimilating into the existing program, exhibitions that have scholarly content focusing on diverse subjects, both historical and contemporary with national and international merit, that will require exhibiting our collection, while borrowing works from other private and public lenders.” It is also the museum’s goal to enhance its publications program with catalogues that will accompany the new exhibition program. Once adequate funding is secured, the permanent collection will undergo a thorough assessment and review to determine its long term use, how the museum cares for it, and the development of a conservation plan. The name change will take effect January 2, 2016 and be part of a rebranding effort that will be implemented over the next several months.
The New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) has commissioned Bated Breath Theatre Company's original production of “Beneath the Gavel,” an interactive performance piece about high-end art auctions and the adventures that happen when High Art meets High Finance, currently in development for production next spring. Using the collections of the NBMAA as inspiration, Bated Breath will bring the audience into the hushed halls of a high-end auction house and blow them wide open as they dramatize the undercurrents, mixed motives, and tensions of high-stakes bidding on works of art. Audience members may engage directly in the action if they choose, bidding on works that will be won with fake money. Meanwhile, the differing perspectives of artists, collectors, auctioneers and many others will come together for an experience that is active, hilarious, serious, and immersive. Timed to coincide with the opening of the Museum's new wing, “Beneath the Gavel” will remind audience members why they love art and will celebrate the artists, curators, dealers, and collectors who bring the excitement to the public.
New London Maritime Society received a grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). Through the Good to Great Program, administered by DECD's Offices of Arts and Historic Preservation, the funds will help restore the historic dock at New London Harbor 'Pequot' Light. This summer, the 25% matching funds needed for the grant application were raised from the community through a 'Please Pledge a Plank for Pequot Light' on-line campaign. "Connecticut has a rich cultural history. By making these investments, we're ensuring that our museums and other cultural sites remain unique, world-class places to visit and become much more compelling experiences for visitors," Governor Malloy said. "Connecticut is an incredible place to live and visit - and we're working hard today so that our state has an even brighter future tomorrow."
The Bellarmine Museum of Art turns five years old, and is celebrating with an innovative exhibition - Hair in the Classical World. The first exploration of this subject in an American museum, the exhibition surveys the role and significance of hair in ancient Greece, Cyprus, and Rome through three thematic lenses: Arrangement and Adornment; Rituals and Rites of Passage; and Divine and Royal Iconography. A scholarly symposium on the subject was held on November 6.
The New Haven Museum has received a $15,000 grant from The 1772 Foundation in partnership with the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, for the continuing restoration of windows at New Haven Museum’s Colonial Revival-style headquarters, designed by J. Frederick Kelly. Work includes replacing cracked panes, re-glazing, freeing up operable sash, repairing or replacing window hardware, restoring deteriorated window elements and painting. Thirty-four windows have already been restored, with plans to restore an additional eighteen in this phase. The New Haven Museum created an exhibition spotlighting one of the Elm City’s most celebrated cultural institutions: “The Nation’s Greatest Hits: 100 Years of New Haven’s Shubert Theatre.” The exhibition is drawn from the Shubert New Haven Archives, and is organized in partnership with the Shubert Theatre. It is made possible, in part, by The Howard Gilman Foundation, and runs through February 27, 2016.
Staff and volunteers from the Gunn Museum with the Bruce Fraser Award. Left to right: Michael Bird, Stephen Bartkus, Sandy Booth, Amy Fallas-Kerr, and Louise van Tartwijk.
The Gunn Museum was awarded the prestigious Bruce Fraser Award for its 2014 exhibit, "Over There: Washington and the Great War" from the Association for the Study of Connecticut History (ASCH) at their annual conference in New Britain. The award, named for the late Bruce Fraser, scholar, activist, and director of the Connecticut Humanities Council from 1982 to 2010, honors Fraser's work in supporting and promoting the study, teaching, and preservation of Connecticut history and sharing that history with residents of the State of Connecticut. This award recognizes the best work on a significant aspect of Connecticut's public history. The Gunn will be venturing into new territory as a part of the new transition to independence and as a consequence of receiving the $100,000 grant to create a permanent history of Washington exhibit. After the current Nell Dorr exhibit is dismantled, Gunn staff and volunteers will begin the daunting task of cataloging and inventorying the museum's collection, seeking new storage for the collection and laying the ground work for the creation of the new permanent exhibit. During this time, for the protection and safety of the collection, the museum will be closed to the general public, but certainly open for visits, research and questions. At the same time as this work is taking place inside the building, the museum will be expanding on its important role as Washington's Historical Society by becoming a part of the local community more than ever. For the first time in its history, the Gunn Historical Museum will be actively fundraising and creating a series of exhibits that will bring the town's history into the heart of the Washington community.
Maine
The L.C. Bates Museum will collaborate with teachers at 16 schools to lead a Young Naturalist Investigators project designed to provide 1,740 rural, mostly low-income second and third grade children and their families with unique and stimulating museum-based STEAM educational programming. The project is designed to serve children who are at risk for school failure and need engagement with meaningful interactive learning activities to increase their 32 levels of academic success. It will address local schools’ lack of funding to bus children to the museum by bringing programs to the schools and offering family fieldtrips. The museum received an IMLS Museums for America grant to make the collaboration possible.
Old York is pleased to announce that it has received a major grant of $35,000 from the Coby Foundation, Ltd., of New York City to conserve the historic Bulman bed hangings for reinstallation in 2016. Created by Mary Swett Bulman (1715–1791) of York, Maine, in the 1730s, the textiles are considered to be the most complete set of colonial American crewel-embroidered bed hangings, consisting of four curtains, a head cloth, tester cloth, three outer valances, and three inner valances. The designs feature embroidered flowers, fruit trees, and animals, complemented by a lyrical poem by Isaac Watts, “Meditation in a Grove” (published in Horae Lyricae, 1706). The embroideries came to the Old Gaol Museum (now Old York) in 1908, through relatives of the Swett family, and have been on almost continuous display ever since. The conservation of the textiles will be carried out over the next year, and the bed hangings will be placed back on public view by the end of 2016.
The Abbe Museum will design, fabricate, and install a permanent exhibit showcasing the history and culture of Maine’s native Wabanaki people. Through the IMLS Museums for America Grant Program, the Abbe Museum exhibit will include content, artifacts, images, and interactive elements informed by the museum’s interpretive framework, its Native Advisory Council, and Native advisors. Evidence of the project’s impact will be gathered by measuring repeat visitation rates by the general public; public program participation rates; media coverage, reviews and blogs about the exhibit; and the response from the tribal communities and Native visitors to the museum.
Through the IMLS Museums for America Grant Program, The Brick Store Museum will digitize and catalog its archival collection, beginning with an estimated 4,400 photographic images, by hiring a staff person who will work with the current collections manager to initiate the digitization of the collection as well as purchase the necessary equipment. This project will include the following tasks: digitization of all photographic images, cataloging them into a database, and establishing a program that will provide access to them through the museum’s website. This project will digitize the photographs (2,000 including prints, slides, transparencies and films), 2,000 glass plate negatives, 150 daguerreotypes, 150 stereographs, and begin digitizing the museum’s microfilm collection. The goals for this project are to reach a wider audience through online exhibitions, and crowd source information for unidentified photographs where the local community can provide additional information to create a deeper historical interpretation.
The Woodlawn Museum, Gardens and Park is pleased to announce that it has received a $4 million matching grant from a private foundation and other donors to support its Campaign for Woodlawn, a fundraising effort to fund a multi-purpose facility on the 180 acre estate. The Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, Woodlawn’s governing board, has worked closely over the past two years with Oudens Ello Architecture and ConsultEcon, an economic and management consulting firm, to map out a long term vision and create a master plan for Woodlawn. The building project will provide spaces for Woodlawn’s educational and recreational programs, visitor services, event, exhibition and organizational support spaces. It will also provide the community with needed space for gatherings, meetings and functions. The master plan, funded by a private foundation, has in its first phase three elements: the re-establishment of the estate’s carriage barn, the renovation of the ell attached to the historic house, and conversion of the Sleigh Barn into a visitor center. According to Woodlawn’s executive director, Joshua Torrance, “The estimated total price for the project is $8.2 million, however that is not to say we are building an $8 million barn.” Torrance explains the total figure includes the cost of building construction, site work and renovations of existing structures as well as soft costs that include design work, permitting, and contingencies. It also includes a significant endowment.
Massachusetts
The Boston Children’s Museum was awarded a National Leadership Grant for Museums by IMLS. The museum will strengthen and expand existing regional Massachusetts networks of museums, libraries, community organizations, and the state early learning systems to support school readiness for children and families across groups and especially those in underserved communities. Family and child preparation for kindergarten is a critical element in building a strong foundation for all aspects of child development. Museums and libraries offer invaluable opportunities to address disparities in access to school readiness activities and programs. This project will support, strengthen, and sustain existing museum and library networks by identifying lead organizations within regions that will act as hubs; develop and evaluate a Collective Impact model for replication and dissemination to other states; design, prototype, and evaluate new program ideas, activities, and materials; and pilot test the replication and dissemination of successful practices. The museum will also share the details of their work and their ongoing evaluation findings with the museum field throughout the three-year project.
The Boston Children’s Museum was also the recipient of the 2015 Children in Museums Award for Lifetime Achievement at the tenth edition of the Hands On! International Conference, organized by the Rijksmuseum and the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The Children in Museum Award was established in 2011 by the European Museum Academy and Hands On! to recognize excellence in programs and exhibitions for children worldwide. Applications are accepted from children’s museums and from education, children and youth departments in museums and science centers.
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art announced its largest ever gift to endowment at its annual Carle Honors fundraiser in New York City. Chairman Christopher B. Milne told the crowd of 300 guests that the new Patricia Morrison McDonald Arts Endowment will underwrite educational programming at the Museum. Richard McDonald of Vero Beach, Florida, gave a gift of one million dollars in memory of his late wife, Patricia, and secured an additional million-dollar match in funds from other donors. The two-million dollar Patricia Morrison McDonald Arts Endowment will serve as a lasting tribute to Pat, who was inspired by art throughout her life and especially moved by the work of The Carle. The museum received an IMLS Museums for America grant to remediate, stabilize, and archive 125 illustrations by renowned children’s book author and artist Leonard Weisgard (1916-2000). Weisgard’s three children gifted 145 of their father’s artworks to The Carle’s permanent collection. The delicate works on paper and illustration board had been severely compromised by mildew and mold after spending decades stored in a barn in Denmark without the benefit of proper climate control. Twenty illustrations from the collection were previously selected for treatment in preparation for the exhibition Magician of the Modern: The Art of Leonard Weisgard, to be held in the spring of 2016, the centenary of Weisgard’s birth. During the year-long grant period, the Williamstown Art Conservation Center (WACC) will remediate, mat, and re-house the remaining 125 illustrations in new acid-free boxes. A detailed conservation survey will also be conducted. The Carle’s collections staff will travel to WACC three times to observe the conservators at work and to learn more about the care of works on paper. Topics will include identifying mold, wearing appropriate protection gear, selecting the best medium of support for different types of art, and choosing the proper size storage boxes.
Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that the Bostonian Society was one of the recipients for the Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) program. Through this two-year initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies provides unrestricted grants to 262 organizations around the country to help strengthen their operational and programming efforts and offers arts management training in fundraising, audience development and board member engagement. As part of the AIM award, all grantees are required to secure matching funds; ensure 100 percent board participation in fundraising; participate in a management training programs and maintain up-to-date information in the Cultural Data Project. The Bostonian Society will use this program to fund a new communications associate position for the Society and expand communications and development resources. The Bostonian Society is partnering with the National Park Service to mount a theatrical production and complementary educational programming at the Old State House. Blood on the Snow is a new play by Patrick Gabridge, set and staged in the Council Chamber of the Old State House. It dramatizes the events of the day after the Boston Massacre, when the fate of the British empire in North America hung in the balance. Blood on the Snow will open for a three-week run in May 2016.
The Harvard Museums of Science and Culture will partner with three local school districts to address state-specific professional development needs for middle school teachers in advance of Massachusetts’ adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards for the 2015-2016 school year, specifically those associated with biological evolution, a Core Disciplinary Idea in the standards. External evaluators will assess project effectiveness and a final report will be available to other informal science learning institutions. This partnership is possible with funding from the IMLS Museums for America grant.
As a recipient of an IMLS Museums for America Grant the Museum of Science, Boston will increase the capacity of its science educators to deliver exhibits and programs that are consistent with next generation science. The museum will collect and analyze information from other informal science institutions about their strategies for informal science educator workplace learning; develop a program focused on reflective practice and program experimentation for a combined group of novice, mid‐career and senior museum educators; and demonstrate staff learning by sharing newly aligned exhibit and program activities with school‐based educators. This project will also result in a synthesis of current practices for staff development within informal institutions.
The Discovery Museums received an IMLS Museums for America Grant to develop a hands-on, interactive math gallery with related programs designed to strengthen caregivers’ skills in facilitating math-related conversations. Design strategies will allow the museum to better promote math-related conversation about math concepts and make real-world connections. On October 24th, TDM broke ground on a $1.5M project to develop a fully-inclusive nature playscape for children and families called Discovery Woods, and announced the leadership phase of a campaign to unify and expand its building facilities. Discovery Woods is expected to open in summer 2016 and the building expansion project to commence in early 2017 pending available funding. Fundraising for a third phase of construction to create an outdoor amphitheater and creative play exhibits is also planned. The groundbreaking marks a milestone toward completing the first two phases of the museums’ 2012 Campus Master Plan, which includes a complete renovation of the museums’ outdoor spaces and expansion of indoor facilities to increase exhibit space and visitor amenities. Leadership donors have thus far committed $6M toward the project, motivated in part by a transformational $3M challenge grant from The Manton Foundation. Broad public outreach requesting support from the entire museum community is expected to begin in late 2016.
The USS Constitution Museum will create an online collections, research, and interpretive portal for educators and information seekers of all ages with help from an IMLS Museums for America Grant. The project leverages the museum’s decade-long groundbreaking historical research and makes collections and interpretive resources broadly available in one place for on-going engagement, enjoyment and discovery. The project will enlarge the museum’s virtual and physical audience, increase awareness of the ship, and encourage greater research and connections to it.
The McDonough family, on behalf of the Myles & C. Jean McDonough Foundation, announced a $15.25 million in commitments to seven leading cultural institutions in Worcester and central Massachusetts. Their charitable commitment will be used to support initiatives at: the American Antiquarian Society; EcoTarium; The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts; Tower Hill Botanic Garden; Worcester Art Museum; Worcester Historical Museum. “These extraordinary institutions have long been a part of the cultural heart of central Massachusetts. We felt the time was right to present each with a gift to show our continued adoration of the role each plays in our community, with the desire to support their initiatives for years to come,” said C. Jean McDonough. These commitments provide renewed vigor for the cultural institutions, which will use these gifts for current capital campaigns or endowments.
The EcoTarium is the recipient of an IMLS Museums for America Grant for implementing a Volunteer-Based Inventorying Protocol (VBI Protocol) as a cost-effective method to inventory its natural history collection. The museum will also administer a survey to 25 New England museums to identify future collaborative partners with whom it can disseminate its manual, develop collections-focused collegiate mentoring relationships, share collections resources, and develop projects that help provide better care for museum collections.
The Davis Museum at Wellesley College received an IMLS Museums for America Grant to carry out three initiatives to support the creation of a gallery for the museum’s Greco-Roman antiquities. The museum will conserve 51 objects, relocate and conserve its 5th-century Antioch mosaic, and construct casework to house sub-collections of its antiquities holdings. Currently 85% of the museum’s Greco-Roman objects are in storage. Those on view are primarily in the study gallery, which rotates objects to suit coursework by semester; only five objects are on view in the permanent collections galleries. The new permanent gallery would more than double the present number of Greco-Roman objects on public display.
Old Manse, Trustees of Reservations received an IMLS Museums for America Grant to catalog and conserve the book and art collection of the Old Manse the home and gathering place for notable writers and thinkers of the mid-19th century, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller. The books and art jointly represent the intellectual pursuits of the inhabitants of the house over many generations, but have fallen into disrepair, preventing them from being exhibited or properly accessed by researchers. The project will catalog more than 2,100 books, conserve 25-30 books, create storage boxes for 250 books, repair three historic bookshelves, and conserve nine pieces of framed art from the collection. The result will be a permanent exhibition at The Old Manse that will provide better public and scholarly access to the books and art that inspired Transcendentalism.
The House of Seven Gables announced plans to restore two largely unknown spaces on the second floor of their site, one of the nation’s oldest timber-framed mansions still in situ. The two currently under-utilized second-floor rooms were divided decades ago. The Gables has already raised $90,000 toward restoring these hidden-from-view spaces, including the necessary structural reinforcement for the main weight-bearing timber, known as the summer beam. Major grantors have already contributed support including: The National Trust, The Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund and the Essex National Heritage Commission. The project is expected to cost $200,000. A fundraising campaign has been launched to raise the additional $110,000 toward what will be an exciting new chapter in our nation's literary and cultural heritage. The organization plans to open the spaces in 2018 — in time to celebrate the house’s 350th anniversary. Once the work has been completed, there will be a comment period for the purpose of gathering ideas for the design and historical interpretation. The house has witnessed many eras and uses. How restored rooms will be presented to the public is open to discussion.
The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) has announced that they are the recipients of a grant from the Tupancy-Harris Foundation to support assistive listening technology in the Whaling Museum. This technology provides hearing-impaired visitors unparalleled access to amplified programming at the museum during lectures and presentations. More than one out of every ten people have hearing loss that affects their ability to enjoy films, lectures and other public presentations, which equals an estimated 38 million people in the United States. According to the April 2010 US Census, more than 12.1% of the Nantucket population is 65 years and over. The prevalence of hearing-related disabilities increases significantly with age, and over the next nineteen years, 10,000 Americans will turn sixty-five every single day. Funds from this grant cover necessary hardware (FM system, receivers and headphones) and installation costs.
Provincetown Art Association and Museum was recently featured in a segment on CBS Sunday morning and on HBO in a documentary entitled Packed in a Trunk.
After running on a deficit of about $500,000 annually for the last several years, the American Textile History Museum is restructuring its business model, which will include closing its exhibits starting in 2016. The museum's board of trustees voted at its meeting Tuesday to temporarily close the museum starting Jan. 1 while it develops a new business model. The museum hopes to "engage in strategic partnerships" that will protect ATHM's collection of American artifacts while enabling the museum to continue its mission under a new structure, according to a press release. Todd Smith, the museum's interim executive director, said the museum is not in the red financially, and no layoffs have taken place recently at the museum, which employs eight full-time staff and two part-timers. He also stressed that the reserve funds the museum has been using to stay afloat, made up of donations, are separate from its existing endowment of just under $2 million, which is restricted.
The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has announced an updated expansion and facilities plan, an array of infrastructure improvements and new programmatic initiatives as elements of PEM’s landmark $650 million Advancement Campaign, one of the largest art museum campaigns in the country. Based on initial work with Rick Mather Architects and subsequent work with Richard Olcott/Ennead Architects to thoroughly analyze expansion options and costs, the museum will construct a new 40,000-square-foot wing for galleries and a new 80,000-square-foot off-site Collection Stewardship Center. Groundbreaking for the new 40,000-square-foot wing will take place in 2016 and the new wing will open to the public in 2019. Rising three stories and adding a handsome facade to the Essex Street pedestrian way, PEM’s new wing will be designed to clarify, unify and enhance the older sections of the museum while providing new galleries dedicated to presentation of portions of the museum’s extensive collection. The building site occupies the northwest corner of the museum complex where the Asian Garden currently resides. No existing galleries will be demolished in the building process and when the project is complete, gallery space will be increased by 15% to bring total gallery space to 100,000 square feet, ranking PEM among the top 20 art museums in the country.
New Hampshire
The Strawbery Banke Museum received an IMLS Museums for America Grant to develop a master long range interpretive plan to assess the museum’s current state and increase the museum’s knowledge of existing and potential audiences and partners. Activities include hiring a consulting team of experts in the museum and education fields, conducting audits and audience research, receiving feedback from stakeholders, staff visits to other museums, and preparation of the new master interpretive plan. The final plan will present interpretive themes with potential approaches identified, prioritized, and organized based upon the museum’s ability to accurately present the theme and its key stories, implementation timing, anticipated costs, and the ability of the museum to sustain efforts.
Rhode Island
In January 1927, the Newport Historical Society published in its bulletin that the vacant lot adjacent to its headquarters building would provide “ample opportunity” for the Society to continue to house its growing collection. The building, built in 1905 and added to in 1915, had not been comprehensively updated in nearly a century. Over the last fourteen months the Society’s Resource Center has undergone a major building renovation with improvements that allow the NHS to properly store and protect its collections while allowing improved access for researchers, visitors and staff. As a result of the extensive renovation project, collections access has been closed since late 2014. The Society is pleased to announce that research appointments are now being accepted. The multimillion dollar renovation includes a new glass façade entrance with an accessible ramp, gallery space, and modernized storage to better protect its world class collections, comprehensive climate control, and other improvements. Additionally, an important program of the NHS includes the prestigious Buchanan-Burnham Internship Program. The Society recently received a major gift from the Trustees of The Helen D. Buchanan Trust which will fully endow the Buchanan-Burnham Internship Program. The gift comes from the Trust upon the recommendation of Helen’s daughter, Monty Burnham, and follows more than a decade of support for this program from Helen Buchanan and Richard and Monty Burnham. The ten week program is regarded as one of the region’s top internship opportunities for graduate students interested in public history and museum studies.
Beginning in 2016, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society will change its name to The Center for South County History and Culture. The decision was the outcome of a strategic planning process that collected feedback from community members. Additionally the site established a new vision for the future: to become a leading research and archival center dedicated to the preservation and promotion of South County's rich and diverse history through programming, educational offerings and exhibitions. A second aspect of the new vision is to develop and grow strong partnerships with other history and heritage organizations throughout Rhode Island, but especially in South County.
The Naval War College Museum has been closed since July 2 while workers install a new HVAC system. The museum is scheduled to reopen on January 4, 2016.
For a fourth summer, Providence Children’s Museum brought imaginative fort building, bubble blowing and other unstructured play experiences to over 900 kids and family members at neighborhood parks and festivals throughout Providence as part of its participation in Playful Providence – an annual citywide celebration of play. The museum also collaborated with the City of Providence and other partners on the second summer of Providence PlayCorps, a program to activate city parks with play and creative exploration in conjunction with the free federal summer meals program. PlayCorps welcomed 3,800 kids at 17 inner-city neighborhood parks. This fall, the Museum is debuting a new program series especially for homeschool children and families. Participants will engage in a different design and engineering challenge each month.
The Museum of Work & Culture is extending its hours of operation for its “Made-to-Order” program, which seeks to make its exhibits and offerings more accessible for visitors of all abilities. The museum launched the program last year, opening one Monday a month for all-abilities visitors. With a reservation, the museum opens on those dates specifically for schools and development centers that serve children with special needs, providing a less crowded environment for guests to explore. Sensory elements such as lighting and sound are adjusted and trained docents guide the groups and create an educational, hands-on experience. Now, the program is being extended to the second Saturday of each month, when the museum will open one hour early, at 9 a.m. During that time, trained staff and volunteers will be on hand to provide supplementary tools and offer tours to visiting families who have children with special needs. As part of the program, the museum offers tools to help teachers and parents prepare for their visit. A social story has been created as a step-by-step illustrated guide to help those on the autism spectrum navigate exhibits. Additionally, it provides checklists and “first-then” boards to better control time and sequence. These materials are available in the museum and on the Rhode Island Historical Society’s website, rihs.org.
Vermont
ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, opened the Northfield Savings Bank Theater, A National Geographic Experience on October 10th. This unique 2- and 3-D theater, the first of its kind in Vermont, brings to the Burlington area daily showings of incredible films from National Geographic. ECHO is thrilled to have been selected as one of National Geographic’s museum theater partners, of which there are only 14 nation-wide. The site also received an IMLS Museums for America Grant and will partner with three area high schools; a multi-district school change working group; and a local makerspace to involve teens in the outfitting and programming of ECHO’s pending “Sustainability Park.” This project will bridge two primary needs: the revitalization of a formerly industrial waterfront and the reimagining of local school systems to meet the demands of the 21st century.
Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home, considered the most important Lincoln site outside of Springfield, Illinois, has entered into an innovative agricultural collaboration with Burr and Burton Academy. High school students now work on the land in ways that make their study of science, economics, food systems, and sustainability much more compelling than it would be in a traditional classroom setting. Experiential learning of this kind is the future of education. Hildene’s partnership with Burr and Burton began this semester and includes: fencing to house farm animals next spring, construction of a 160’ by 30’ teaching greenhouse and large bin composting system, and a 21st century classroom built in the farm’s 19th century barn. This partnership and program highlight Hildene’s commitment to conservation and sustainability.
The Rokeby Museum has recently received two grants. A $3,000 grant from the Walter Cerf Community Fund will support seasonal exhibits, attendant programs and publicity at Rokeby annually for three years. Historic New England has awarded Rokeby one of its six Community Preservation Grants. The museum will use the $1,000 award to survey the Native American artifacts in its collection.
The Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History and Historic New England are pleased to announce an alliance that brings enhanced benefits to members of both organizations. The alliance between the two organizations, both devoted to historic preservation, history and art collections, and heritage interpretation, caps a multi-year collaborative partnership in exhibits. Historic New England’s traveling exhibitions Take Me to the Fair (2012), From Dairy to Doorstep (2013), and Lost Gardens of New England (2014) were displayed at the Henry Sheldon Museum with supplemental Vermont material from the Henry Sheldon. During the exhibition partnership, staff members, trustees, and the general public learned about the strengths and benefits of the respective organizations, which led to the alliance, promising to be mutually beneficial to the growth of the organizations and services to the communities they serve. Through the alliance, Historic New England will expand its public outreach in Vermont, where it presents programs but does not currently operate a historic site museum. The alliance will help the Henry Sheldon Museum unlock its potential by increasing its audience, bringing broadened nationwide visibility and recognition. In addition, Historic New England offers the Henry Sheldon expertise in building and collection preservation and archival conservation and digitization, thereby enhancing the Henry Sheldon’s preeminent roles in the collection of community history, historic preservation, art, and history exhibits.