Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps and MNHS began implementing lessons learned from the past two years to increase the viability of a historic preservation activity built on a conservation corps model. The first year focused on building the capacity of the corps through further expansion of service projects, skills training and networks.
The Historic Recognition Grant program is designed to preserve, recognize and promote the historic legacy of Minnesota, with a focus on commemoration of Minnesota's role in the U.S. Civil War.
MNHS, through a onetime competitive process, awarded nine grants to eight history-minded organizations in eight counties. The Historic Recognition Grants Program grants are based on project priorities delineated by the Governor's Civil War Commemoration Task Force.
The website currently under development will include an explanation of the digitization process and importance of the conservation project and 3D-scanning techniques performed during 2012 and 2013. It will also house the 3D images, providing a user-friendly way to search images by categories and learn the interpretation of the carvings.
The Minnesota Historical Society continued to work on revitalizing some of the state's most important and prominent historic sites. Program planners developed new programs at Historic Fort Snelling, Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post and the Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site. Evaluation results showed that 81% of program guests surveyed felt that these programs increased their knowledge of Minnesota history, places and culture. 71% of guests responded that these programs increased their personal connection to history.
Partner: Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps
The Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps develops lifelong workforce skills by connecting young people to the earth, cultures, and traditions through historic preservation work and outdoor service. In partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society, a feasibility study was conducted and a business plan developed outlining the initiative's purpose and goals, detailing the proposed scope and strategies, and demonstrating that the initiative is financially viable.
Historic Fort Snelling is an MNHS historic site targeted for revitalization. This revitalization is one of MNHS's current strategic priorities. The Historic Fort Snelling revitalization project completed a master plan in June 2015. The predesign phase kicked off in September 2015 and continues through FY16. The project manager position, which coordinates various MNHS educational programs and building activities, was partially supported with Legacy funds.
The Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps and MNHS are refining the lessons learned from the fall 2014 demonstration project to increase the viability of a historic preservation activity built on a conservation corps model. The pilot phase focused on building
the capacity of the corps through diversification of revenue and expansion of service projects, skills training, and networks.
Through a competitive process, the Historic Recognition Grant Program awards grants to historical organizations statewide to support programs that preserve, recognize, and promote the historic legacy of Minnesota, with a focus on commemoration of Minnesota's role in the American Civil War.
History Day, an annual program co-sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota, challenges young people to research a historical subject related to an annual theme and present their findings in the form of exhibits, documentaries, performances, web sites and papers, much like a "science fair for history."
Arts and Cultural Heritage funding made it possible for the Society to provide additional services to 118 schools in 39 counties across the state.
Partner Organization: University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
This program, sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota, provided 10 undergraduate college students with the opportunity to become History Museum Fellows in 2010.
The program launched with a semester-long course at the University of Minnesota where the students were introduced to issues related to diversity and museums, followed by a paid summer internship at the Society.
The award-winning History Live program served more than 5,500 Minnesota students in FY12 while creating new history lessons to deliver via video conferencing technology. New programs focus on Dred and Harriet Scott, Dakota history and Jeffers Petroglyphs. History Live staff are also developing a way to deliver content to seniors living in residential facilities and will continue building a state and nationwide audience for these unique, high-energy history programs.
History Day, an annual program co-sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota, challenges young people to research a historical subject related to an annual theme and present their findings in the form of exhibits, documentaries, performances, websites and papers. It is a rigorous program used by schools to meet state graduation standards for history and applied learning. Minnesota is widely recognized as a national leader in using the History Day program to improve academic achievement in history.
This groundbreaking project is creating a new model for school field trips using mobile and web technologies to capitalize on the natural behaviors and learning styles of today's students. "History in Our Hands: the Field Trip for the 21st Century Learner," will demonstrate how museums can use technology to create self-directed, personalized, responsive field trip experiences that deepen students" connection to history while honing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
The award-winning History Live! program served more than 8,400 students in FY16, bringing the total number of students served since the program's launch to more than 37,000. In FY17, the Interactive Video Conferencing studio was updated to incorporate new technologies, reduce costs and meet customer needs.
History Live! is working in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council to launch a new lesson that integrates student use of handheld technology with the interactive program.
Partner: The University of Minnesota--Twin Cities
University of Minnesota students from diverse backgrounds explored the museum field through a semester-long course at the U, followed by a paid summer internship at the Minnesota Historical Society. The course introduced students to issues related to diversity and museums. Students then chose from a wide range of internship positions and also interacted with professionals in the field during a museum study trip to Washington, D.C.
To coincide with the centennial of the entrance of the United States into World War I, MNHS is developing a series of public programs, school programs, publications, and online resources to increase awareness and understanding of the World War I era and its enduring legacy for Minnesota and its people. Special outreach to the veterans' community and members of the active military is underway.
The award-winning History Live! program served more than 5,500 students in FY15, bringing the total number of students served since the program launched in FY11 to nearly 29,000. For the first quarter of FY16, the History Live! program updated its business plan with a goal to increase overall revenue and serve more students. It provided 14 programs serving 421 students through Oct. 31, 2015. In addition, the program partnered with the Jewish Community Relations Council to launch a new History Live! lesson that integrates students' use of handheld technology with the live program.
This project will involve the creation of a new theater room to be included in the Hmong Cultural Center Museum and Library. The theater room will allow visiting groups and walk-in visitors to view clips of historical documentaries about the Hmong diaspora and Hmong American Experience as part of their museum experience.
Hmong Museum will develop and streamline its online educational offerings through a series of online web exhibitions, collections, and enhanced curriculum.
A 2,500-square-foot exhibition, "We Are Hmong/Peb Yog Hmoob," timed for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the beginning of Hmong migration to Minnesota, is planned to open on March 7, 2015 and will run through November 29, 2015.
The Hmong Oral History Project aims to document Hmong stories and perspectives and for these interviews to be used as a resource for the We Are Hmong exhibit. MNHS worked with Mitch Lee, director of St. Paul's Hmong Broadcasting Company (HBC), to interview 10 prominent Hmong individuals. The interviews were created in video format by HBC's film crew. The interviews will be featured on HBC and will also become part of the MNHS collection available online at the Voices of Minnesota website, collections.mnhs.org/voicesofmn/.
The primary goal of this project is to train the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency staff in Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) model calibration of nutrients, oxygen demand, and algal processes and in MATLAB script development for model output processing and report generation. Additionally, a pilot application process will be developed to link HSPF applications to Water quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) to take advantage of the advanced sediment oxygen demand processes.
The goal of this project is to construct, calibrate, and validate a watershed model using HSPF. RESPEC will produce a HSPF model that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter TMDLs.
The Hydrologic Simulation Program Fortran (HSPF) Scenario Application Manager (SAM) software application was developed by RESPEC for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to meet the agency’s business needs to provide increased accessibility and use of HSPF modeled data to support Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS), and One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) development efforts.
