During the Fall, the Museum’s Education Department was awarded two grants: an award of $899 from the Mississippi Humanities Council for Faulkner’s Rowan Oak Traveling Trunk and a grant of $3,993 from the Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow (LOFT) to create an interactive educational area within the Museum’s classroom spaces to facilitate discovery and exploration for young visitors to the Museum.

Faulkner’s Rowan Oak Traveling Trunk is our first non-art trunk, as it concentrates on the literature of Faulkner and promoting Rowan Oak. It includes classroom sets (35) of two Faulkner short stories (Barn Burning and A Rose for Emily), and is the first trunk designed for high schoolers. The highlight of the trunk is a 1918 typewriter that is similar to one that Faulkner used.  This program is financially assisted by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Mississippi Humanities Council.

The LOFT foundation is a widely respected community organization under the CREATE Foundation umbrella with a deep commitment to supporting local efforts to improve the quality of life and opportunity in Oxford and Lafayette County. While the Museum serves children and families through regular programming, we wanted to expand the opportunities for families visiting the Museum independently and make the Museum a highly accessible place for independent learning. This proposal was generously co-sponsored with a $500 donation from the Friends of the Museum to support the production of Family Learning Guides for young learners visiting the Museum. We look forward to undertaking this project and creating new ways for families to experience the Museum.

Education and Outreach programs
are reaching unprecedented numbers
of children and families!

A museum visit can have a truly profound impact on a young learner’s view of the world,art, and history.At the University Museum, our educational programming is designed to transport audiences to ancient civilizations, introduce viewers of all ages to art, and create memorable experiences. In the past year, the Museum’s programs have expanded and developed, offering new creative opportunities for children as young as the age of two exploring the galleries with their parents or grandparents in our Mini Masters program.

Of the many programs at the Museum, our Traveling Trunk and Outreach programs have experienced the most growth. Through valued community partnerships like that with Leap Frog After School program and our free traveling trunk program for schools and organizations, we are able to offer free outreach programming to at-risk students.

We have also formed a new partnership with the Scott Center special needs students, and it is a joy to be able to share our collections and see people of all different abilities connect with our collections in new and diverse ways. As of October 2013, our Outreach programs had already reached over 8,000 students this year alone. The key to the success of these programs has been forming connections and partnerships with teachers, and we are proud that now through our partnership with the UM-Tupelo campus more Tupelo teachers are benefiting from our trunk program as well!

In addition to regular Family Activity Days, we want the Museum to be a place for adults and young children to explore together on their own. The Museum has just received generous funding from the Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow to create an Interactive Education Area and additional funds from the Friends of the Museum for a Family Learning Guide throughout the galleries. This project is one that we hope will make the museum a more accessible and engaging place for families
with children of all ages.