I was fortunate to be able to keep all of my appointments in Washington DC before the COVID-19 restrictions set in. It was brilliant to start my first trip to the USA in the nation's capital. I met formally with Teaching for Change, the National History Day National Office, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum and Museum on Main Street. I squeezed in lots of visits to cultural institutions too! | |
Before exploring DC, I whizzed straight up to Baltimore for a performance of Gene Bruskin's The Moment Was Now, recommended by Deborah from Teaching for Change. It's a counterfactual history show centring on the Reconstruction era after the American Civil War - I've loved getting these hot tips from locals! At our meeting, I learned about Teaching for Change's inspiring education programs which align closely with my historical interests. These include publications like Putting the Movement back into Civil Rights Teaching and Beyond Heroes and Holidays, the DC Area Educators for Social Justice network, and partnership with the Zinn Education Project.
I had a chance to learn more about how National History Day functions behind the scenes, by meeting Cathy and Lynne at their national office. NHD was very influential on the establishment of Australia's National History Challenge. The plan was to then see how NHD operates on the ground, by participating in some judging in Utah. Hopefully I'll still have a chance to be involved if I return there next year.
Thanks to my internationally-connected pal Kristy, I was able to connect with the Library of Congress to talk about how their Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) and other education programs operate. Again, the plan was to follow this up with the TPS professional learning on offer at the NCHE Conference, so I hope I'll get to do that in 2021 instead. It was brilliant to meet Jen, the current LoC Teacher in Residence. I will definitely be recommending that we explore a teacher-in-residence model in South Australia.
The Smithsonian is a massive body and I was pleased to discover more about two of their fantastic but lesser-known groups with direct relevance for my research. Museum on Main Street (MoMS) is its travelling exhibition service, which partners with state humanities councils for targetted outreach to 'small-town America'. This includes an exciting Youth Engagement and Skill-Building program, as part of Stories from Main Street. It was my pleasure to exchange information about ABC Australia's Heywire competition, as I'm a big fan of their work!
With contrasting demography but with similar intent, the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum primarily works with Washington DC's urban communities. I adored their Right to the City exhibition, as it gave me a chance to learn more about the residents of DC and consider common issues for urban communities worldwide. I can foresee partnerships with the History Trust of SA's Centre of Democracy and Migration and Maritime Museums in future.
Amongst these appointments, I had a chance to visit and chat informally with 'docents' at many other sites:
THANK YOU:
I had a chance to learn more about how National History Day functions behind the scenes, by meeting Cathy and Lynne at their national office. NHD was very influential on the establishment of Australia's National History Challenge. The plan was to then see how NHD operates on the ground, by participating in some judging in Utah. Hopefully I'll still have a chance to be involved if I return there next year.
Thanks to my internationally-connected pal Kristy, I was able to connect with the Library of Congress to talk about how their Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) and other education programs operate. Again, the plan was to follow this up with the TPS professional learning on offer at the NCHE Conference, so I hope I'll get to do that in 2021 instead. It was brilliant to meet Jen, the current LoC Teacher in Residence. I will definitely be recommending that we explore a teacher-in-residence model in South Australia.
The Smithsonian is a massive body and I was pleased to discover more about two of their fantastic but lesser-known groups with direct relevance for my research. Museum on Main Street (MoMS) is its travelling exhibition service, which partners with state humanities councils for targetted outreach to 'small-town America'. This includes an exciting Youth Engagement and Skill-Building program, as part of Stories from Main Street. It was my pleasure to exchange information about ABC Australia's Heywire competition, as I'm a big fan of their work!
With contrasting demography but with similar intent, the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum primarily works with Washington DC's urban communities. I adored their Right to the City exhibition, as it gave me a chance to learn more about the residents of DC and consider common issues for urban communities worldwide. I can foresee partnerships with the History Trust of SA's Centre of Democracy and Migration and Maritime Museums in future.
Amongst these appointments, I had a chance to visit and chat informally with 'docents' at many other sites:
- African American Civil War Memorial and Museum
- National Archives
- National Mall and Memorial Parks, including the Washington Monument, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and memorials to Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, and Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of American History, Natural History Museum (including the Outbreaks: Epidemics in a Connected World exhibition) and National Air and Space Museum (including the Enola Gay)
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- White House Visitor Centre
THANK YOU:
- Deborah Menkart, Executive Director, Teaching for Change
- Daryl! LC Moch, director, Gene Bruskin, creator, and cast and crew of The Moment Was Now
- Dr Cathy Gorn, Executive Director, and Lynne O'Hara, Director of Programs, National History Day
- Stephen Wesson, Learning and Innovation Office, and Jennifer Reidel, Teacher-in-Residence, Library of Congress
- Robbie Davis, Sydney Thatcher and Carol Harsh, Museum on Main Street, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
- Paul H. Perry, Director of Education and Outreach, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution
- Dr Kristy Kokegei from the History Council and History Trust of South Australia for helping me make contact with LoC
- Megan van Frank from Utah Humanities for bringing Museum on Main Street to my attention