"Take a Ride on the Rails" Exhibit
Statewide Historic and Cultural Grants. $5,250,000 the first year and $5,250,000 the second year are for history programs and projects operated or conducted by or through local, county, regional, or other historical or cultural organizations; or for activities to preserve significant historic and cultural resources.
Visitors to the "Take a Ride on the Rails" exhibit at the Baudette Depot have been invited to complete an exit evaluation survey. The desired outcomes were to ascertain that the audience would experience new learning, a sense of railcar travel, and that visitors would have an "experiential" visit - sit back and enjoy their "ride," glance out the "window," talk about where they might have been or might be going. The surveys reported a majority of excellent or good ratings on the historical quality, relation to theme, and clarity of presentation aspects of the exhibit. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, visitors were asked to rank the exhibit in terms of recommendations for friends/families etc. to visit. The responses were in the 9 and 10 ratings by most respondents. We believe that the very positive response from visitors is due to the excellent planning by Venture Exhibits of Duluth, MN (exhibit consultants) to design and create the exhibit, as they brought to the project their experience and understanding of how to create truly "experiential" exhibits that connect with visitors. The exhibit"s inclusion of a "window view" mural as created by mural artist Scott Murphy of Duluth, MN created a truly outstanding exhibit, inviting visitors to "come into" and "experience" a "Take a Ride on the Rails." The mural was funded by a Region 2 Arts Council grant.