Affordable transportation is one of the biggest barriers for schools' ability to plan field trips to Minnesota Historical Society sites and museums.
By June 2011, nearly 600 schools across Minnesota will access the Society's Legacy Field Trip Support Fund, which means more than 50,000 students will be able to learn about history through field trip experiences they otherwise might have missed.
Every year, more than 2,300 people volunteer in support of programs and projects delivered by the Minnesota Historical Society. With the addition of more than 100 Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (ACHF) projects, the need for volunteers also increased.
ACHF funding enabled the Society to recruit, coordinate and supervise volunteers helping with Legacy projects. As of December 2010, nearly 80 new volunteers were recruited, trained and placed, including 10 percent from diverse communities.
Partner Organizations: 1000 Friends of Minnesota (renamed Envision Minnesota), Twin Cities Public Television (TPT)
Through this partnership, Minnesota history will be made more accessible to thousands of Minnesotans. The "Legacy Letters" project will result in up to 25 one-minute films that draw their content from a sampling of the 150 people, places, organizations, events and natural features of the state as compiled by the Minnesota Historical Society's MN 150 exhibit and book.
The Legacy Field Trip Support Fund will help an estimated 39,000 Minnesota students experience field trips at Minnesota historic sites and museums statewide in FY12 and FY13. The high cost of transportation prohibits many Minnesota teachers from taking their students on field trips. The Legacy Field Trip Support Fund offsets transportation costs to all of the Minnesota Historical Society's 26 museums and historic sites statewide. Eligible schools are reimbursed $3 per student.
