Signature Assessment

Mary Salata
LIS 707
Job: Director of Community Engagement
Institution: Elmhurst History Museum

The Idea: Museum-School Collaboration

 Museums are powerful institutions. The guard history, and protect it. But the purpose of
protecting history is not to lock away artifacts and shield them from use, but to preserve them
and present them to a modern public so that their usefulness, though transformed in function
by time, does not wane.
In keeping with the mission of the Elmhurst History Museum, “to engage people with
history through thoughtful collection, enlightening exhibits, and diverse educational
experiences,” I believe that there is a unique opportunity to engage the current and future
consumers of the museum through coordinated programming with the community schools.
Data shows that Elmhurst’s school district, No. 205, services 8,520 students in pre-kindergarten
and kindergarten-12th grade. Population data also shows that Elmhurst is a growing community,
attracting many families with children under the age of 18, and consisting primarily of owner-
occupied housing units. Owner-occupied housing suggests an opportunity for increased place
attachment through education on the community – and no institution is better prepared to
provide that education than the Elmhurst History Museum.
Since the Elmhurst History Museum and the Elmhurst public school district are both
largely publicly funded institutions, I believe that they are in a perfect position to collaborate on
programming, as it both fiscally wise, and greatly mutually beneficial. With values that align
with the understanding of the power of history and education, a joint effort by the museum
and the school system has the potential to yield powerful results within the community.
Engaging a young public also sets up the museum’s next generation of consumers. Cultivating
place attachment through education and connection to the history of the community can
increase the likelihood that young adults remain within Elmhurst, and continue to engage with
city institutions such as the museum into adulthood, until they too eventually have children of
their own, continuing the cycle of utilizing, valuing, and supporting the museum and its mission.
The creation of an annual, supplemental Elmhurst-themed curriculum that coincides
with existing and state mandated history curriculums is an excellent opportunity for the
museum to work with local schools and local children to enhance their learning experience. As
interesting as it is for elementary students to learn about the Great Depression in this country
in the 1930s, how much more could they learn from an immersive experience presented jointly
by the museum and the school, engaging them with what life was like in their own hometown
at that time? Or how about the ways in which Elmhurst contributed to the war effort of WWII?
By providing students with relatable stories that include things they recognize from their own
day to day life, learning of history is greatly enhanced. This increased exposure to what the
museum has to offer will also, ideally, build lasting relationships between the museum and
these students as they grow into adulthood, and up the chance that they will continue to utilize
and support the museum, its resources, and its mission.
Project Plan:
GOAL: The development of Elmhurst-themed history bi-annual (one per semester) curriculum
that coincides with existing and state-mandated curriculum at various academic levels, utilizing
the resources of the Elmhurst History Museum and coordinating with schools to maximize
engagement, to be implemented in classrooms in the 2021-2022 school year.
BUDGET ESTIMATE: $50,000 –

TEAM:

 Elmhurst History Museum

o Director of Elmhurst History Museum
o 1-3 Museum part-time staff (one for each grade segment – elementary, middle
school, high school)
 Elmhurst schools
o Administrators of various Elmhurst schools
o Teachers of Elmhurst schools
 Elmhurst Heritage Foundation
STAKEHOLDERS:
o Students of Elmhurst School District No. 205
o The Elmhurst History Museum
o Elmhurst School District No. 205

OUTCOMES

 Students of Elmhurst schools will benefit from personalized history programming within
their regular curriculum, giving them the opportunity to learn about their own
community and actively engage with its story
 The Elmhurst History Museum will see increased engagement in programming, not only
through this specific program but also through an increased interest in expanding on the
information provided, through new and more engagement in online resources provided
by the museum, as well as visits to the museum and its other programming
 The school district will have the opportunity to expand curriculum via the resources of
the history museum instead of having to attempt to create the curriculum on their own
or, worse yet, go without due to their own budget, time, and staffing constraints
Assessment Plan:

This idea will involve a three-step assessment, at three distinct stages of development, to
ensure that the museum is responsibly moving forward with this endeavor, and to analyze how
effectively this new offering has produced increased engagement in Pre-K – 12 age consumers
with the overall museum institution.

STAGE 1: Initial Feasibility

 Beginning with interviews of museum and school administrators, and then expanding to
include museum staff and classroom teachers.
 This portion of assessing the proposed programming will evaluate the feasibility of this
offering, and hone in on potential problems or conflicts.
 Following this stage, a more formal budget will be created based on insight gleaned
from the interviews, and a new museum employee (or employees, depending on
feedback) will be hired to begin the design process of this outreach endeavor.

STAGE 2: Content Creation

 Following the development of this curriculum, focus groups will be utilized. One
classroom for each grade level curriculum will be given an advance opportunity to
experience the program.
 Feedback will be collected from the museum worker, the classroom teacher, and the
students involved regarding the programming, its format, and its value.
 Adjustments will be made, as necessary.

STAGE 3: Classroom Implementation

 Following implementation, data mining would be the primary source of analyzing the
effectiveness of the school collaboration in generating overall interest in the museum.
Looking at the following before and after statistics would provide insight:
 Number of visitors to the museum
 Number of requests by teachers for other school-focused resources
offered by the museum (existing Portable Museum Programs, etc)
 Number of research inquiries by students through the museum
GANTT CHART

1 3 5 7 9- 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
- - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - -
Week --> 2 4 6 8 0 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
Stage 1
Research Interviews
Hire Museum Employee(s)
Fundraising
Stage 2
Topic Selections
Resource Organization
Program Design
Focus Groups
Stage 3
Classroom Implementation
"Press Release"