The Time Travelling Trunks: Portable, Educational, and Creative Encounters with History

Authors:

• Michaela Kraft, Museology Graduate Program
• Chair: Angelina Ong
• Maggie Kase,
• Paul de Cordova

Contact the authors

Abstract:

The Southwest Seattle Historical Society (SWSHS) is home to a number of educational trunks that include access to primary sources and teaching collection objects. However, due to the limited interpretation accompanying the trunks as well as the fact that some of the materials had become culturally insensitive or infested with insects, it became imperative that the trunks be re-designed. The creation of relevant lesson plans and the integration of original theatrical opportunities were the focus of this project, aiming to update and diversify SWSHS’s educational offerings in order to create a multimodal experience that could be incorporated into the curriculum of schools in SWSHS’s service area. This project served to address two major goals: 1. SWSHS will have a piece of repeatable, relevant, and immersive educational programming that will not require staff or volunteers, but will be integrated into the local school system, and 2. SWSHS will expand its demographic to include students in its service area. In order to meet these goals, a series of short lesson plans relating to the trunks that corresponded to each grade level were created, as well as a simple collections care plan and list of items that were to be presented to the Board of Directors for de-accessioning. One of these lesson plans incorporated a theatrical component, and encouraged students to create their own short production and explore the intended topic through embodied learning. Access to these trunks is vital because SWSHS is able to support only two full time staff members, and will benefit greatly from a set of travelling instructional materials that will both reach their entire service area and will not require research or physical accompaniment from an employee at the museum.

Poster:

Download a copy of the project poster

Project Deliverable:

The Time Travelling Trunks: Portable, Educational, and Creative Encounters with History

Video Presentation