MNHS continues to strive for environmental, economic, and social sustainability in the fifth year of its sustainability program. Staff and visitors are engaged with sustainability through the project's "More for the Mission" campaign. Recent energy-efficiency projects within our facilities have allowed us to achieve the five-year goal of 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
What's Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones is a new traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution that reveals the creative genius behind some of the most enduringly popular cartoons and animated films of all time. Chuck Jones brought to animation an unparalleled talent for comic invention and a flair for creating animated characters with distinctive and often wildly eccentric personalities.
To provide a general conservation assessment of the college archives.
A consultant was hired to conduct a general preservation assessment, to help draft a long-range plan, to assess policies and to prepare a summary report with prioritized recommendations for the future. This was accomplished with a one-day on-site visit and a four day period to write the Preservation Needs Assessment Report. A list and action plan for future preservation actions has been prepared.
MNHS is working to engage Twin Cities youth in programming in order to increase their interest in history and the Minnesota Historical Society. MNHS promotes and recruits diverse students for programs that engage them in understanding how public organizations present historical narratives. One of these programs is the American Indian Museum Fellowship program (above). The funds also provide logistical support for diversity outreach efforts, which includes having tables at events and community engagement activities.
We Are Hmong Minnesota, a 2,500-square-foot exhibit, debuted March 7, 2015, timed for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the beginning of Hmong migration to Minnesota. MNHS staff worked in partnership with the Hmong community to develop the exhibit. A traveling version of the exhibit for loan to libraries, schools, and community centers was also developed and is currently circulating. A companion exhibit at the James J. Hill House displayed a collection of Hmong textiles recently donated to the Minnesota Historical Society.
Minnesota Public Radio is the state's largest cultural organization, providing 96 percent of the population with free access to some of the best broadcast cultural programming in the world. Minnesota Public Radio is using a grant from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to implement projects around the following four goals:
Three radio theatre scripts were produced using the synthesized oral histories of Douglas County's elder residents. The oral histories had been gathered earlier as part of the Minnesota Historical Society's oral history project to preserve the stories of Minnnesota's Greatest Generation. The topics for the scripts were: the Great Depression, World War II and the post-war economic Boom. Each script was vetted by knowledgeable content experts and the information presented is historically accurate.
Implement and train on the new scope and sequence model for preschool-early childhood (k-3) for Ojibwe Language Instruction. Grassroots Indigenous Multimedia will provide whole staff training on the new model with follow up Skype sessions. The White Earth Band will also provide opportunities for students to demonstrate language skills to the community.Develop new scope and sequence model with curriculum framework up to fifth grade by the end of the second year of the grant.
Increase rural community capacity to teach and transmit Dakota language. Create a safe, nurturing immersion - learning environment that actively engages 15 intergenerational families in learning and speaking Dakota together through traditional Dakota lifeways.
The Minnesota Historical Society is deeply engaged in cultivating meaningful relationships with adult audiences as lifelong learners, members, donors, volunteers, and supporters. In FY16, MNHS continued to build the organization's capacity for using skilled volunteers through staff trainings, creating new programs, and a thorough evaluation of programs targeted at adult audiences. New initiatives: Fifty-eight new skilled volunteer positions were added, contributing 4,700 volunteer hours.
To bring a new cultural performance to the Marshall County Fair. Programming included a performance by Williams and Ree, a duo that singes traditional Americana and Native American songs and recounts early local folklore.
